Lockdown Protocol

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti lands at rank 882 out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. That places it just past the midpoint of the database, a position that reflects a balanced pairing rather than an outlier in either direction. The combo sits in the 54th percentile of all tested configurations, which means a slight majority of setups deliver higher frame rates in this game. However, the context matters: the ranking includes extreme hardware on both ends, and this duo’s position is respectable for a mid-generation pairing.

What the data reveals is that this combination is not bottlenecked in a way that cripples performance, nor does it over-deliver beyond what its components suggest. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 17181 places it at the 75th percentile among all processors, while the GPU’s average score of 25120 puts it at the 69th percentile among all graphics cards. Both components perform near their expected levels, and the combo rank reflects that consistency. The i5-11400F’s nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (deltaPct 0), the Intel Core i7-1260P (deltaPct -0.2), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (deltaPct -0.2), showing that this CPU trades blows with those parts within a fraction of a percent. The RTX 3060 Ti similarly sits within 0.7% of the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP and within 0.5% of the AMD Radeon RX 6600, meaning the GPU is statistically tied with those alternatives in synthetic workloads.

GPU Role

The RTX 3060 Ti brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. That memory configuration is the defining feature for Lockdown Protocol’s demands, as the game’s texture streaming and scene complexity scale with available VRAM. The GPU’s base clock of 1410 MHz and boost clock of 1665 MHz are modest by modern standards, but the Ampere architecture’s 4864 shading units do the heavy lifting. The card’s 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is a solid figure for 1080p and 1440p gaming, and the measured results confirm that the card is capable beyond its clock speeds suggest.

The GPU’s position among rivals is tight: it trails the AMD Radeon RX 6700M by just 0.2%, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 by 0.5%, and the AMD Radeon 890M by 0.5% in average benchmark score. In practice, Lockdown Protocol’s frame rates show the RTX 3060 Ti handling the game’s rendering pipeline effectively, but the VRAM capacity becomes a factor at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 45.7, and while that is playable for some, it indicates the card is near its limit. The 8 GB frame buffer is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K with Ultra settings, the data shows a steep decline that points to memory pressure rather than raw compute limits.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS across resolutions tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 194.7 FPS, which drops to 146.3 FPS at 1440p Low and then to 92.3 FPS at 4K Low. That is a 53% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which is substantial but not catastrophic. The pattern changes with higher settings. At Ultra, the frame rate goes from 94.4 FPS at 1080p to 65.5 FPS at 1440p and finally to 45.7 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra is 30.6%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 30.2%, showing a consistent scaling pattern.

This consistency suggests the GPU is the primary limiting factor as resolution increases. The CPU’s six cores and 12 threads are not being stressed to the point of causing frame dips, as evidenced by the relatively uniform scaling. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would plateau or drop more sharply at lower resolutions where the GPU has headroom. Instead, the data shows that lowering settings at any resolution yields a proportional FPS increase, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Low, the 194.7 FPS result indicates the CPU can feed the GPU adequately, but the RTX 3060 Ti’s compute and memory bandwidth become the ceiling as pixel count rises.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce 194.7 FPS average, which is well above the refresh rate of most monitors. Medium settings drop to 140.5 FPS, High settings to 119.9 FPS, and Ultra to 94.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 100.3 FPS, showing that settings have a massive impact at this resolution. For competitive play, the Low preset offers the highest headroom, while Ultra still maintains a playable 94.4 FPS for those who prioritize visual fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers remain strong but show the GPU working harder. Low settings average 146.3 FPS, Medium 100.9 FPS, High 87.3 FPS, and Ultra 65.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 80.8 FPS, indicating that the GPU is starting to feel the resolution load. High settings at 87.3 FPS are still smooth for most displays, while Ultra at 65.5 FPS is borderline for high-refresh monitors but perfectly playable on a 60 Hz panel.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 3060 Ti’s limits become apparent. Low settings manage 92.3 FPS, Medium 66.5 FPS, High 56 FPS, and Ultra 45.7 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only sub-60 FPS figure in the entire dataset, and it highlights the memory bandwidth constraint. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 1440p but struggles to feed the 4K pixel count at maximum settings. Even at Low settings, the 92.3 FPS result shows that 4K is playable but not ideal for this GPU.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience per the measured rows, the 1440p Medium preset stands out as the sweet spot. At 100.9 FPS average, it provides a smooth frame rate that exceeds most standard 144 Hz displays’ needs while maintaining visual quality above Low. The jump from Medium to High at 1440p costs 13.6 FPS (from 100.9 to 87.3), which is a noticeable reduction for marginal graphical gains. Conversely, the drop from Medium to Low at 1440p gains 45.4 FPS (from 100.9 to 146.3), which is substantial but comes at the cost of visual fidelity that many players would find too degraded.

At 1080p, the High preset at 119.9 FPS is the recommended choice for most users. It offers a balance that keeps frame rates above 120 FPS while retaining enough detail for immersive gameplay. Ultra at 1080p drops to 94.4 FPS, which is still playable but sacrifices 25.5 FPS for settings that are barely perceptible on most 1080p panels. For players with 144 Hz monitors at 1080p, the Medium preset at 140.5 FPS is a better fit, as it stays above the refresh threshold while providing richer visuals than Low.

For 4K, the data suggests sticking to Low settings if frame rate is the priority, as the 92.3 FPS result is the only 4K figure above 90 FPS. Medium at 66.5 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced play, but High and Ultra dip below 60 FPS, making them unsuitable for competitive scenarios. The 45.7 FPS Ultra result is the weakest in the dataset and should be avoided unless the player values maximum fidelity over responsiveness.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F contributes 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Rocket Lake processor, built on Intel’s 14 nm process, features 12 MB of shared L3 cache. Its single-thread performance, as measured by Cinebench R23 at 2029, is competitive, while the multicore score of 14372 shows adequate throughput for gaming workloads. The CPU’s 65 W TDP keeps thermals manageable, and its boost behavior allows it to reach 4.40 GHz when needed.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU’s role is supportive but not negligible. The benchmark results show that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 194.7 FPS, which indicates the CPU can drive frame rates well above typical display refresh rates. The 3DMark single-thread score of 868 and the 3DMark 2-thread score of 1691 suggest that the CPU handles the game’s primary thread adequately. The gap between the 2-thread score (1691) and the 16-thread score (5619) shows that scaling improves with more threads, but the game likely does not utilize all 12 threads fully.

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U with a deltaPct of 0, meaning they perform identically on average. The Core i7-1260P and Core Ultra 7 164U both trail by 0.2%, while the Core i5-1240U leads by 0.2%. This tight grouping indicates that the i5-11400F is not a performance outlier; rather, it is a mainstream part that delivers consistent results. The PassMark multithread score of 16908 and the Geekbench multicore score of 7579 reinforce this assessment. For Lockdown Protocol, the CPU does not appear to bottleneck the RTX 3060 Ti at any resolution, as evidenced by the smooth scaling across settings. The 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and dual-channel DDR4 support are adequate for the game’s data demands, and the PCIe Gen 4 interface with 20 lanes ensures the GPU has sufficient bandwidth for data transfer.