Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a fast-paced FPS that scales heavily with both CPU and GPU, and the Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti combo demonstrates a clear performance curve across resolutions. The data indicates a system that is exceptionally strong at 1080p, capable at 1440p, and still very playable at 4K, with the GPU becoming the primary limiting factor as resolution increases. This pairing offers a balanced experience where the 6-core/12-thread Alder Lake processor keeps up with the Blackwell graphics card until the pixel count climbs high enough to shift the bottleneck.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable but significant drop in performance as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 272 FPS, which drops to 230 FPS at 1440p and further to 148 FPS at 4K. This represents a 45.6% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings. The scaling pattern indicates that at 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-bound, as the RTX 5070 Ti has ample headroom to push well beyond 200 FPS, but the i5-12400's single-thread performance (3dmark_single_thread score of 910) becomes the limiting factor.

Moving to 1440p, the average FPS across all settings sits comfortably above 100 FPS, with Low settings reaching 230 FPS and Ultra still hitting 107 FPS. The transition from 1440p to 4K shows the GPU taking over as the primary constraint. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 69 FPS, while 4K Low manages 148 FPS. This 79 FPS gap between Ultra and Low at 4K confirms that the RTX 5070 Ti's 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 896.0 GB/s bandwidth are being taxed by higher resolutions, but the card still delivers playable frame rates even at maximum settings.

The Medium settings row at each resolution provides the most telling data on scaling. At 1080p Medium, the average is 223 FPS with a minimum of 189 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it falls to 163 FPS with a minimum of 139 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 105 FPS with a minimum of 90 FPS. The consistent 60 FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p and another 58 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K suggests a linear relationship between pixel count and performance, typical of a GPU-limited scenario at higher resolutions. The minimum FPS values at Medium settings (189, 139, and 90) indicate that even in demanding scenes, the system maintains smooth gameplay well above the 60 FPS threshold.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain high FPS?

A: At 1080p, the combo delivers between 146 and 272 FPS depending on settings, while 1440p ranges from 107 to 230 FPS. Both resolutions provide excellent frame rates, but 1440p High at 142 FPS represents the sweet spot for visual quality and smoothness, as 4K still achieves playable results with 92 FPS at High settings.

Q: How does the i5-12400 perform relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18683, placing it 0.1% behind the AMD EPYC 7643, 0.3% behind the Intel Core i7-1355U, and 0.7% behind the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330. It is 0.9% ahead of the Intel Core i3-14100F, showing it sits in a competitive mid-range position.

Q: Is the RTX 5070 Ti's 16 GB VRAM sufficient for Lockdown Protocol at 4K?

A: The data shows 4K Ultra averages 69 FPS, and 4K High averages 92 FPS, indicating that the 16 GB of GDDR7 memory is not a limiting factor for this game. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 896.0 GB/s and 256-bit bus width are adequate for even the most demanding settings tested.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among all tested configurations?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti ranks 418th out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 11.3% of all configurations, which indicates strong overall performance for this title.

Q: How much FPS difference is there between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Low settings average 230 FPS while Ultra averages 107 FPS, creating a 123 FPS difference. This shows that Lockdown Protocol is highly sensitive to graphics settings, with the GPU having significant headroom at lower presets.

Q: Does the CPU hold back the GPU at 1080p?

A: The data suggests yes, as 1080p Low hits 272 FPS but 1080p Ultra only reaches 146 FPS, a smaller gap than expected if the GPU were fully utilized. The i5-12400's 3dmark_2_threads score of 1692 and single-thread score of 910 indicate that per-core performance caps frame rates at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is the dominant component in this pairing, with its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 896.0 GB/s bandwidth proving essential for high-resolution performance. The GPU's 8960 shading units, 280 TMUs, and 96 ROPs drive the rendering pipeline, while its boost clock of 2452 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz provide the raw compute power. The card's 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores suggest it is well-prepared for ray-traced workloads, though the measured data focuses on standard rasterization performance.

The GPU's benchmark scores show it is a high-end part, with a passmark_g3d score of 32974 and a passmark_gpu_compute score of 20203. Its percentileVsAllGpus of 86 indicates it outperforms 86% of all GPUs in the database. However, its nearest rivals are interesting: the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 scores 0.1% higher, the Intel Arc A550M is 0.4% lower, and the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT is 2% higher. This places the RTX 5070 Ti in a competitive tier where small benchmark differences translate to real-world parity.

In Lockdown Protocol specifically, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions. At 4K, the average FPS drops from 148 at Low to 69 at Ultra, a 53.4% reduction that directly reflects the GPU's workload scaling. The 4K Medium row shows a minimum FPS of 90, indicating that the GPU can maintain smooth gameplay even under load. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is not stressed by this game, as even at 4K Ultra with 69 FPS average, there is no evidence of memory-related stuttering or performance collapse.

The RTX 5070 Ti's memory clock of 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) and 256-bit bus width deliver 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Lockdown Protocol's textures and geometry. The GPU's FP32 performance of 43.94 TFLOPS provides the computational headroom for high refresh rate gaming at 1440p, where it averages 142 FPS at High settings. The card's 300 W TDP and 700 W suggested PSU indicate it is a power-hungry component, but the measured FPS data shows it delivers commensurate performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings average 272 FPS, Medium averages 223 FPS with a minimum of 189 FPS and maximum of 256 FPS, High averages 194 FPS, and Ultra drops to 146 FPS. The 126 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p highlights the CPU's ability to push high frame rates but also shows how GPU load increases with settings. The Medium settings row is the only one with min/max data, showing a 67 FPS range that suggests some scene-to-scene variance but no major stuttering.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows a clear step down. Low settings average 230 FPS, Medium averages 163 FPS (minimum 139, maximum 188), High averages 142 FPS, and Ultra averages 107 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings: Low loses 42 FPS, Medium loses 60 FPS, High loses 52 FPS, and Ultra loses 39 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is becoming more of a factor, as the absolute FPS differences between Low and Ultra shrink relative to 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the GPU takes full control. Low settings average 148 FPS, Medium averages 105 FPS (minimum 90, maximum 121), High averages 92 FPS, and Ultra averages 69 FPS. The 79 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is the largest absolute gap across all resolutions, demonstrating that the GPU's rendering load is the dominant constraint. The Medium settings min FPS of 90 at 4K is notable, as it shows the system can maintain smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes, while the 121 FPS maximum indicates there is still some headroom for less complex environments.

The Medium settings rows provide the most complete picture across all resolutions, as they are the only ones with min and max FPS data. At 1080p, the 223 FPS average with a 189 FPS minimum shows excellent consistency. At 1440p, the 163 FPS average with a 139 FPS minimum remains solid. At 4K, the 105 FPS average with a 90 FPS minimum confirms playable performance even at the highest pixel count. The progression from 223 to 163 to 105 FPS at Medium settings shows a clear linear relationship between resolution and performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti combination ranks 418th out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 11.3% of all configurations. This is a strong result for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU, suggesting that the i5-12400 does not significantly bottleneck the RTX 5070 Ti in this game. The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus of 72 and the GPU's percentileVsAllGpus of 86 combine to produce a system that outperforms the vast majority of tested setups.

The rank of 418 out of 3714 indicates that while this combo is not in the absolute top tier, it sits comfortably above the median. The i5-12400's average benchmark score of 18683 places it near the AMD EPYC 7643 (18697) and Intel Core i7-1355U (18730), showing it is competitive with much more expensive processors. The GPU's average benchmark score of 49957 places it near the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (50001) and Intel Arc A550M (49737), though the RTX 5070 Ti's real-world FPS results in Lockdown Protocol are what matter most.

The combo's ranking is particularly impressive given that the i5-12400 is not a high-end CPU. With only 6 cores and 12 threads, it lacks the multi-core muscle of higher-tier processors, but Lockdown Protocol appears to favor single-thread performance. The CPU's 3dmark_single_thread score of 910 and cinebench_r23_singlecore score of 2257 indicate strong per-core performance, which is likely why the combo ranks so well in this FPS title. The data suggests that for this specific game, the i5-12400's architecture is well-suited to the workload.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the High settings preset at 2560x1440 is the recommended starting point, delivering an average of 142 FPS. This provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium while maintaining frame rates well above the 100 FPS threshold for competitive play. If higher frame rates are preferred, Medium at 1440p offers 163 FPS with a minimum of 139 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 1080p, the High preset at 194 FPS is the strongest recommendation for players with 144Hz or 165Hz displays, as it clears the refresh rate headroom comfortably. For esports-focused players, Low at 1080p provides 272 FPS, which is beneficial for 240Hz monitors, but the visual compromise may be significant. The Ultra preset at 146 FPS still delivers smooth gameplay, but the marginal visual gains over High are unlikely to justify the 48 FPS loss.

For 4K gaming, the Medium preset at 105 FPS is the best choice, offering a minimum of 90 FPS that ensures smooth gameplay in intense firefights. High at 92 FPS is also viable for players with 60Hz displays, but the Medium preset's higher minimum FPS provides more consistent performance. Ultra at 69 FPS is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes, so it is only recommended for players with VRR displays who prioritize absolute visual quality over frame rate consistency.

The data consistently shows that Medium and High presets offer the best performance-to-quality ratio across all resolutions. At 1440p, the 21 FPS difference between Medium and High is a reasonable trade-off for improved visuals. At 4K, the 13 FPS difference between Medium and High is also acceptable. The Low presets are only recommended for competitive play where frame rate is the primary concern, while Ultra should be reserved for scenarios where visual fidelity takes precedence over raw performance.