Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i5-12400F + AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT lands at rank 2759 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the field. This is a balanced pairing where neither component is dramatically mismatched, but the data reveals that the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the CPU holds its own at 1080p. The 6-core, 12-thread Alder Lake processor with a 2.50 GHz base and 4.40 GHz boost clock provides solid single-threaded performance for a competitive FPS, while the RDNA 1.0-based GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory delivers playable frame rates across most settings, though Ultra presets at 4K push the combo to its limits.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable progression as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 156 FPS at 1080p to 114 FPS at 1440p, then further to 74 FPS at 4K. That represents a 27% reduction going from 1080p to 1440p, and a 35% reduction from 1440p to 4K. This scaling pattern indicates that at Low settings, the system is still largely CPU-bound at 1080p, with the GPU becoming progressively more limiting as pixel count rises.

At High settings, the drop is steeper: 97 FPS at 1080p falls to 71 FPS at 1440p (a 27% decline), then to 46 FPS at 4K (a 35% decline from 1440p). The similar percentage drops across Low and High presets suggest that resolution scaling is consistent, but the absolute numbers tell a different story about component headroom. At 1080p High, the combo delivers 97 FPS, which is well above playable thresholds, but at 4K High the 46 FPS average is borderline for a competitive FPS.

Looking at Medium settings, where min and max FPS data is available, the trend continues. At 1080p Medium, the average is 111 FPS with a min of 94 and max of 127. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 81 FPS with a min of 69 and max of 93. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 52 FPS with a min of 44 and max of 60. The min-to-max spread at each resolution is roughly 30 FPS, indicating that frame pacing remains consistent even as the average drops.

Ultra settings reveal the most punishing scaling. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 72 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 53 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average collapses to 34 FPS. The 47% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings is the steepest of any preset, signaling that the RX 5700 XT's 8 GB VRAM and memory bandwidth are being saturated at higher resolutions with maxed-out details.

The data suggests that 1080p is where this combo shines, with all presets except Ultra exceeding 90 FPS. At 1440p, High and Medium remain playable, but Ultra dips below 60 FPS. At 4K, only Low settings crack 70 FPS, and Medium barely maintains 52 FPS, making 4K gaming feasible only with reduced quality settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F brings 6 cores and 12 threads based on Alder Lake architecture, fabricated on Intel's 10 nm process. Its 2.50 GHz base clock and 4.40 GHz boost clock are backed by 18 MB of shared L3 cache, with 1.25 MB L2 per core and 80 KB L1 per core. The processor supports dual-channel DDR4 and DDR5 memory and connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 20 CPU lanes.

Benchmark results show a single-thread score of 909 in 3DMark and 1680 in Cinebench R23 single-core, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs. Multi-threaded performance is strong for a 6-core part: 5895 in 3DMark 16-thread, 5912 in max-thread, and 12380 in Cinebench R23 multi-core. The PassMark multi-thread score of 19433 and Geekbench multi-core of 9472 confirm that this CPU can feed a mid-range GPU without bottlenecking at lower resolutions.

In Lockdown Protocol, an FPS title, single-thread performance typically matters more than raw core counts. The 12400F's single-thread scores are competitive, but the data suggests that at 1080p Low, where the CPU has the most influence, the combo reaches 156 FPS, indicating the processor is doing its job. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1699 and 4-thread score of 3067 show that the CPU can handle lightly-threaded game workloads efficiently.

The nearest rival comparisons show the 12400F sitting at parity with the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (0% delta), Intel Core 3 201E (-0.1%), Intel Core i5-1335U (0.3%), and AMD EPYC 7773X (0.3%) in average benchmark scores. This clustering around the 19000-19050 mark indicates that the 12400F is positioned in a dense performance band where small differences in synthetic benchmarks don't translate to meaningful gameplay distinctions.

At 65W TDP, this is an efficient part that won't strain cooling solutions. The locked multiplier means no overclocking headroom, but the boost clock of 4.40 GHz is already respectable for gaming workloads. For Lockdown Protocol specifically, the CPU's role is to maintain high frame rates at 1080p, and the data shows it succeeds, with the GPU becoming the limiting factor as resolution increases.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is built on the Navi 10 chip with RDNA 1.0 architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. It packs 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with a base clock of 1605 MHz, game clock of 1755 MHz, and boost clock of 1905 MHz. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory runs on a 256-bit bus at 1750 MHz, yielding 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Synthetic benchmarks place this GPU in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, with a PassMark G3D score of 16277 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2134. The Geekbench Vulkan score of 68310 and OpenCL score of 9524 indicate solid compute capability, while the PassMark GPU compute score of 7650 shows the card handles general-purpose workloads adequately.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role becomes dominant at higher resolutions. At 4K, the average FPS ranges from 74 at Low to 34 at Ultra, a span of 40 FPS that demonstrates how sensitive the RX 5700 XT is to pixel count and settings load. The 8 GB VRAM capacity, while adequate for 1080p and 1440p, may become a limiting factor at 4K with high-resolution textures, particularly on Ultra presets.

The nearest rival comparisons show this GPU is tightly clustered: AMD Radeon Pro 5600M is 0.1% faster, NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is 0.3% faster, AMD Radeon PRO W7500 is 0.3% faster, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 is 0.9% faster in average benchmark scores. This suggests the RX 5700 XT is performing at a level comparable to much newer workstation cards, which is notable for a 2019 product.

The 225W TDP and dual-slot design require a 550W suggested PSU, with power delivered via one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector. The card's 272 mm length and 36 mm width mean it should fit in most mid-tower cases, though clearance should be verified. The 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 4K data shows the card struggling to maintain 60 FPS on anything above Low settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2759 out of 3714 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 26th percentile of all tested systems. This is a modest ranking that reflects the mid-range positioning of both components. The CPU's 73rd percentile standing is higher than the GPU's 59th percentile, indicating the processor has more headroom relative to its peers than the graphics card does.

This ranking suggests that in the context of all tested combos, this pairing is better suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming than for 4K or maxed-out settings. The 1080p results — 156 FPS at Low, 111 FPS at Medium, 97 FPS at High, and 72 FPS at Ultra — demonstrate that the combo can handle competitive play at high refresh rates. At 1440p, it remains viable with 114 FPS at Low, 81 FPS at Medium, and 71 FPS at High, though Ultra drops to 53 FPS.

The 4K results are the weakest link in this combo's profile. Even at Low settings, the 74 FPS average is below what competitive FPS players typically target, and Medium at 52 FPS with a 44 FPS minimum could lead to noticeable stutter in fast-paced firefights. The Ultra preset at 34 FPS is essentially unplayable for a competitive shooter.

Compared to the 3713 other combos tested, this system's rank of 2759 means roughly 74% of tested systems outperform it in Lockdown Protocol. This is not surprising given the RX 5700 XT's age and mid-range standing, but the CPU's strong synthetic performance helps keep the combo from falling further down the list.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 156 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium settings yield 111 FPS average with a minimum of 94 FPS and maximum of 127 FPS, providing a smooth experience with some headroom for frame drops. High settings maintain 97 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 72 FPS — still playable but noticeably lower.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings average 114 FPS, which remains highly playable. Medium settings average 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS and maximum of 93 FPS, offering a good balance of visual quality and responsiveness. High settings average 71 FPS, while Ultra falls to 53 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many players consider minimum for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low settings average 74 FPS, which is the only preset that exceeds 60 FPS at this resolution. Medium settings average 52 FPS with a minimum of 44 FPS and maximum of 60 FPS, meaning the experience will have noticeable dips during intense scenes. High settings average 46 FPS, while Ultra drops to 34 FPS, making 4K gaming impractical for a competitive FPS with this hardware.

The min-to-max spreads at Medium settings are consistent across resolutions: 33 FPS at 1080p, 24 FPS at 1440p, and 16 FPS at 4K. The narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is becoming fully saturated, reducing the variance in frame times as the bottleneck shifts entirely to the graphics card.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 1440p with High settings?

A: Yes, the measured data shows an average of 71 FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings. This is above the 60 FPS threshold, though not by a large margin, so players should expect occasional dips during heavy combat sequences.

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play with this setup?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 156 FPS average, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate competitive play. Even at 1080p High, the 97 FPS average provides a smooth experience for most players.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM on the RX 5700 XT sufficient for this game?

A: The benchmark data indicates that 4K Ultra settings produce only 34 FPS average, suggesting that the 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are strained at maximum resolution with highest quality presets. At 1080p and 1440p, the VRAM capacity appears adequate for all settings.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance affect this game?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F scores 909 in 3DMark single-thread and 1680 in Cinebench R23 single-core, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs. In an FPS like Lockdown Protocol, this single-thread strength helps maintain high frame rates at 1080p, where the 156 FPS Low setting result indicates the CPU is not the primary bottleneck.

Q: What settings should be used for 4K gaming with this combo?

A: The data shows that only Low settings (74 FPS average) exceed 60 FPS at 3840x2160. Medium settings average 52 FPS, High averages 46 FPS, and Ultra averages 34 FPS. For 4K play, Low or Medium settings are the only viable options.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems in Lockdown Protocol?

A: This combo ranks 2759 out of 3714 tested combinations, placing it in the 26th percentile. The CPU's 73rd percentile performance is stronger than the GPU's 59th percentile, indicating the graphics card is the more limiting component in this pairing.