Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a fast-paced FPS where frame pacing and responsiveness directly affect aiming and movement. The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the Intel Arc B570 produces a specific performance profile across resolutions and settings that is worth breaking down. The data shows a system that is capable of strong 1080p performance but becomes increasingly GPU-bound as resolution climbs, with the playable range clearly defined by the measured rows.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals a clear GPU bottleneck at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 84 FPS at 1920x1080 to 62 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 40 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 26% reduction going from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 35% reduction moving from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear; the gap widens as resolution increases, indicating the Arc B570’s rendering pipeline is saturated by the pixel count at 4K.

The pattern is consistent across all settings. At Low, the system produces 136 FPS at 1080p, 100 FPS at 1440p, and 64 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is also 36 FPS, showing a more uniform scaling at lower quality presets. This suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is still feeding frames adequately at 1080p, but the GPU’s fill rate becomes the limiting factor as pixel count increases. At Ultra, the numbers are 63 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K, with the 4K result being borderline unplayable for a competitive shooter.

The limiting component shifts depending on resolution. At 1080p, the i5-11400F with its 6 cores and 12 threads is able to keep up with the Arc B570’s output, as evidenced by the 136 FPS Low result. By 1440p, the GPU is clearly the constraint, and at 4K, the GPU is the sole bottleneck. The benchmark results indicate that for a 144Hz monitor, 1080p is the only resolution where the system can consistently exceed 100 FPS, and even then only at Low or High settings. For 1440p, a 75Hz or 100Hz display would be a better match, as the average FPS at Medium is 71. At 4K, the system is only suitable for 30 FPS locked experiences at Ultra, which is contrary to the fast-paced nature of the game.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system exceeds 100 FPS on average, with 136 FPS at Low and 96 FPS at Medium. This makes 1080p the clear choice for high refresh rate competitive play.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 84 to 62, a 22 FPS reduction. At Low settings, it drops from 136 to 100, a 36 FPS reduction. The percentage loss ranges from roughly 26% at High to 36% at Low.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B570 capable of running Lockdown Protocol at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. The system achieves 64 FPS at Low and 46 FPS at Medium. At High and Ultra, the average FPS falls to 40 and 30 respectively, which is below the smoothness threshold for a fast-paced FPS.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its direct rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rival is the Intel Arc A750 with a score of 20582, putting the B570 0.1% behind it. It is 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which scores 20534.

Q: What is the CPU’s single-threaded performance relative to its multi-threaded score?

A: The i5-11400F scores 2024 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 14340 in multi-core. The single-core score is about 14% of the multi-core score, which is typical for a 6-core, 12-thread processor. For gaming, the 3dmark single-thread score of 868 is more relevant, and it scales to 5619 at 16 threads.

Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for Ultra settings at any resolution?

A: The Arc B570 has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory. The measured results show that Ultra settings are only playable at 1080p with 63 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, the average FPS is 46, and at 4K Ultra it is 30. The VRAM capacity is sufficient, but the GPU’s raw compute power limits Ultra settings to lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture and features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines. It has 18 ray tracing cores, but for a game like Lockdown Protocol, the traditional rasterization performance is what matters most. The GPU’s boost clock is fixed at 2500 MHz, which is also the base clock, indicating a stable operating point. The memory runs at 2375 MHz, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth across a 160-bit bus. This memory bandwidth is crucial for feeding the 80 ROPs at higher resolutions.

The GPU’s raw throughput is rated at 11.52 TFLOPS for FP32 operations and 200.0 GPixel/s for pixel fill rate. These numbers explain the resolution scaling seen in the measured FPS. At 1080p, the pixel fill rate is sufficient to handle the load, but at 4K, the number of pixels quadruples, and the 200.0 GPixel/s rate becomes a limiting factor. The 10 GB VRAM is not the issue; even at 4K Ultra, the game does not appear to exceed this capacity, as the system still runs without crashing. The bottleneck is the GPU’s compute and memory bandwidth.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Arc B570 scores 14195 in Passmark G3D and 83514 in Geekbench OpenCL. It ranks in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, which puts it in the mid-range tier. Its nearest rival is the Intel Arc A750, which is 0.1% faster, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which is 0.1% slower. This indicates the B570 is a solid performer for its class, but it is not a high-end card. The measured FPS in Lockdown Protocol reflects this positioning: it can handle the game at high frame rates at 1080p, but it struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K on higher presets. The GPU’s role in this system is to provide a smooth experience at 1080p and 1440p, with 4K being a stretch goal that requires compromising on settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy of what the system can achieve. For players prioritizing frame rate, Low settings at 1920x1080 delivers 136 FPS, which is ideal for a 144Hz monitor. However, Low settings often compromise visual clarity, which can be a disadvantage in a game where spotting enemies at a distance is key. The High preset at 1080p yields 84 FPS, which is still smooth on a 75Hz or 100Hz display and likely provides a better visual experience for target acquisition.

At 1440p, the best balance between visual quality and performance is the Medium preset, which delivers 71 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS. This ensures that frame times stay consistent enough for competitive play. The High preset at 1440p drops to 62 FPS, which is playable but may feel less responsive during intense firefights. For 4K, the Medium preset at 46 FPS is the highest playable option, but the Low preset at 64 FPS is the only one that approaches a smooth experience.

The data suggests that Ultra settings are not worth the performance cost. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 63 FPS, which is only 21 FPS less than High but likely adds marginal visual improvements. At 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 46 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider smooth. The recommendation is to use High settings at 1080p for a balanced experience, or Medium settings at 1440p for higher resolution with acceptable frame rates. For 4K, Low settings are the only viable option for consistent play.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows a clear progression across settings. Low settings produce an average of 136 FPS, which is the highest measured result for the entire system. Medium settings drop to 96 FPS, with a minimum of 82 FPS and a maximum of 111 FPS, showing a stable frame time distribution. High settings produce 84 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 63 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 73 FPS, indicating that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings average 100 FPS, which is a 36 FPS drop from 1080p. Medium settings average 71 FPS, with a minimum of 60 FPS and a maximum of 81 FPS, which is a 25 FPS drop. High settings average 62 FPS, and Ultra settings average 46 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is now 54 FPS, showing that the GPU is becoming more constrained as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the system is heavily GPU-bound. Low settings average 64 FPS, Medium settings average 46 FPS with a minimum of 39 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS, High settings average 40 FPS, and Ultra settings average 30 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 34 FPS, which indicates that the GPU’s pixel processing capability is the dominant factor. The Medium preset’s minimum of 39 FPS suggests occasional stutters, making it less reliable for competitive play. The data shows that 4K is only viable with Low settings, and even then, the 64 FPS average may dip in busy scenes.

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. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 12 MB of shared L3 cache, with 512 KB of L2 cache per core. This configuration is typical for a mid-range desktop processor from its generation, and its benchmark scores reflect a solid balance between single-threaded and multi-threaded performance.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-11400F scores 2024 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 14340 in multi-core. The single-threaded performance is critical for gaming, and the 3dmark single-thread score of 868 shows that it can handle the game’s logic and physics calculations. The multi-threaded scores are less relevant for Lockdown Protocol, as the game is unlikely to scale perfectly across all 12 threads. The CPU’s Passmark single-thread score of 2981 and multithread score of 16908 further confirm its mid-range positioning.

The CPU’s role in this system becomes evident when analyzing the FPS at 1080p Low. The system achieves 136 FPS, which is a high frame rate, but it does not reach the 200+ FPS that a more powerful CPU might enable. This suggests that the i5-11400F is not the primary bottleneck at 1080p, but it also cannot push frame rates to the extreme. At higher resolutions, the CPU’s influence diminishes, as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to avoid stuttering in this game, as evidenced by the stable minimum FPS in the Medium preset at 1080p and 1440p.

The CPU ranks in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17177. Its nearest rival is the Intel Core i5-12450H, which is 0.4% faster, and the AMD EPYC 7H12, which is 0.3% slower. This places the i5-11400F in a competitive position for gaming, though it is not a top-tier chip. In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU’s performance is adequate for the GPU it is paired with, ensuring that the system is balanced. The data shows that the CPU does not hold back the GPU at 1440p or 4K, but at 1080p, a faster CPU could potentially extract a few more frames from the Arc B570. For this specific combo, the i5-11400F provides a stable foundation, allowing the GPU’s performance to shine at the resolutions where it is most capable.