Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a fast-paced FPS that stresses both the CPU and GPU depending on how you configure it. With the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, the data reveals a system that is exceptionally capable at 1080p and 1440p, but begins to show its limits at 4K when settings are pushed to the extreme. The measured frames per second (FPS) across resolutions and presets tell a clear story about where this combo excels and where you'll want to dial things back.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is the most telling metric for understanding this pairing. At 1080p with Low settings, the system pushes 231.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 212 FPS, and at 4K Low it falls to 145 FPS. This scaling shows that even at the lowest settings, the resolution increase from 1440p to 4K costs a massive 67 FPS, indicating the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck at 4K.

The trend is consistent across all presets. At High settings, the system delivers 193.7 FPS at 1080p, 138.9 FPS at 1440p, and 87.9 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p High is 54.8 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K High is 51 FPS. This relatively even drop suggests that while the GPU is stressed at higher resolutions, the CPU is still keeping up reasonably well until you hit the 4K Ultra preset.

The most dramatic scaling occurs at Ultra settings. The system achieves 141.8 FPS at 1080p, drops to 103.9 FPS at 1440p, and craters to 67.8 FPS at 4K. The 36.1 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K Ultra is the largest single-resolution penalty in the entire dataset. This indicates that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 672.3 GB/s bandwidth are being fully taxed at 4K Ultra, and the 6-core, 12-thread i5-11400F is no longer able to feed frames fast enough to hide the GPU's workload.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 4K smoothly?

A: Yes, but only if you stick to Low or Medium settings. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 145, and at 4K Medium it's 105. High settings yield 87.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 67.8 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a competitive FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for a high-refresh-rate monitor?

A: At 1080p, every preset except Ultra exceeds 190 FPS, with Low hitting 231.9 FPS. At 1440p, Low and Medium deliver 212 FPS and 160.2 FPS respectively, which are excellent for 144Hz or 165Hz displays. For 240Hz monitors, 1080p is the safer choice.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 48704 places it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. It is 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A2000 and 2% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile, but 0.7% behind the NVIDIA CMP 50HX and 2.1% behind the Intel Arc A550M.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F a bottleneck for this GPU?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary limiter until you reach 4K Ultra settings. At 1080p Low, the system hits 231.9 FPS, which is high enough that the 6-core, 12-thread processor with a 4.40 GHz boost clock is keeping pace. At 4K Ultra, the 67.8 FPS result indicates the GPU is fully saturated.

Q: What is the single biggest FPS jump from a settings change?

A: At 4K, moving from Ultra to High settings increases the average FPS from 67.8 to 87.9, a gain of 20.1 FPS. Going from High to Medium adds another 17.1 FPS, and Medium to Low adds 40 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU benchmark against its closest competitors?

A: The i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181, placing it in the 75th percentile of all CPUs. It scores 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i5-1240U and 0.2% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U, while matching the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U and trailing the Intel Core i7-1260P by 0.2%.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the dominant component in this system for Lockdown Protocol. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for the game's texture streaming at high resolutions. The core runs at a base clock of 2340 MHz and boosts to 2610 MHz, and with 8448 shading units, the card has the raw compute to handle the game's particle effects and lighting.

The benchmark data shows the GPU's strength scales with resolution. At 4K, the card's 44.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is what drives the 145 FPS result at Low settings. However, the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 67.8 FPS, revealing that even this powerful card struggles with the highest quality shadows and post-processing at that resolution. The card's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average score of 48704, confirms it sits above the mid-range tier, but the measured results show it is not a 4K Ultra card for this game.

The GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic tests—the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, RTX A2000, RTX A1000 Mobile, and Intel Arc A550M—are all within 2.1% of its average score. This places the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER in a competitive segment, but the game-specific numbers show it has enough headroom to deliver playable frame rates at 1440p High (138.9 FPS) and 4K Medium (105 FPS). The 16 GB VRAM is likely why the card maintains 87.9 FPS at 4K High, as it can hold more texture data without spilling to system memory.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 231.9 FPS
• Medium: 205.7 FPS
• High: 193.7 FPS
• Ultra: 141.8 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 212 FPS
• Medium: 160.2 FPS
• High: 138.9 FPS
• Ultra: 103.9 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 145 FPS
• Medium: 105 FPS
• High: 87.9 FPS
• Ultra: 67.8 FPS

The data shows a clear pattern: the difference between Low and Medium at 1080p is only 26.2 FPS, but the jump from Medium to High costs 12 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 51.9 FPS. This suggests the Ultra preset introduces expensive effects that disproportionately impact performance. At 1440p, the spread from Low to Ultra is 108.1 FPS, with the largest single drop occurring between Medium and High at 21.3 FPS. At 4K, the spread is 77.2 FPS, and the Low-to-Medium jump costs 40 FPS, which is the largest single-preset penalty in the entire dataset.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with 12 MB of shared L3 cache. Its average benchmark score of 17181 puts it in the 75th percentile of all CPUs, which is respectable for a mid-range desktop part.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system hits 231.9 FPS, which is a high enough frame rate that the CPU's single-thread performance—evidenced by its 3dmark_single_thread score of 868 and passmark_single_thread score of 2981—is being fully utilized. The CPU's 12 threads handle the game's physics and AI, and the benchmark results show it scales well with thread count: the 3dmark score jumps from 1691 with 2 threads to 5619 with 16 threads, indicating good multi-threading efficiency.

The CPU's nearest rivals, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, Intel Core i7-1260P, Intel Core Ultra 7 164U, and Intel Core i5-1240U, all score within 0.2% of the i5-11400F in average benchmarks. This means the CPU is not the limiting factor when comparing to these alternatives. The real constraint appears at 4K Ultra, where the 67.8 FPS result suggests the CPU cannot feed the GPU fast enough to maintain higher frame rates, even though the GPU is also heavily taxed. The 65W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (51.2 GB/s bandwidth) are adequate for this workload, but the data shows the CPU is the secondary bottleneck at the highest resolution and settings.

Settings Recommendations

For competitive play where frame rate is king, the 1080p Low preset is the clear winner, delivering 231.9 FPS. This gives you maximum headroom for high-refresh-rate monitors and ensures the lowest input latency. If you prefer a balance of visuals and speed at 1080p, Medium at 205.7 FPS is the sweet spot—it's only 26.2 FPS slower than Low but offers noticeably better texture quality.

At 1440p, the recommendation depends on your monitor's refresh rate. For 144Hz displays, Medium at 160.2 FPS is ideal, as it stays above the refresh threshold with room to spare. High at 138.9 FPS is also viable, but it's closer to the limit. For 165Hz monitors, stick with Medium. Avoid Ultra at 1440p (103.9 FPS) unless you have a 100Hz display and prioritize visuals over smoothness.

For 4K gaming, the data strongly suggests using Medium at 105 FPS as the best compromise. Low at 145 FPS is faster but sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a game that benefits from seeing enemies clearly. High at 87.9 FPS is playable but may feel less responsive in firefights. Ultra at 67.8 FPS should be avoided for competitive play, as the frame pacing at that rate is likely inconsistent. The 4K Medium preset offers the best experience per the measured rows, balancing visual quality with a frame rate that keeps the action fluid.