Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 combination, a pairing that lands in the 1405th position out of 1637 tested combos. This places the system in the lower half of the database, indicating that while playable, the experience is heavily dependent on resolution and settings. The data reveals a system where the GPU is the primary constraint, but the CPU's capabilities still define the ceiling for high refresh-rate gaming.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable and steep drop as resolution increases, confirming the GTX 1070 as the limiting component. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 128.5 FPS, but this falls to 94.9 FPS at 1440p and further to 59.9 FPS at 4K. This represents a 53.3% performance loss from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, a scaling pattern typical of a GPU-bound scenario where pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at higher graphical presets. With Ultra settings, the average frame rate plummets from 59.1 FPS at 1080p to 46.8 FPS at 1440p and finally to 27.1 FPS at 4K. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is stark, with the latter delivering less than half the frame rate. This indicates that the 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and the 256-bit memory bus are being saturated at 4K, especially with the increased texture and shading demands of the Ultra preset. The data suggests that 1080p is the only resolution where this combo can consistently push past the 60 FPS threshold on higher settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, provides a solid foundation for gaming, but its influence on these results is secondary to the GPU. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and multi-thread score of 5912 indicate a capable processor for game logic and physics. In a game like Lockdown Protocol, an FPS, the single-thread performance is often critical for frame pacing. The 2.50 GHz base clock, boosting up to 4.40 GHz, ensures that the processor can feed frames to the GPU without becoming the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions.

Benchmark results indicate that the i5-12400F sits at the 77th percentile compared to all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19221. It performs nearly identically to the Intel Core i7-8700K, with a deltaPct of just 0.1%, and is 0.7% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS. This suggests that in a less GPU-limited scenario, the CPU could deliver higher frame rates. However, at 4K Ultra, the data shows a drop to 27.1 FPS, a figure far below what the CPU could theoretically support, reinforcing that the graphics card is the dominant constraint at higher resolutions. The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache likely helps with maintaining stable minimum frame rates, though the data does not include min FPS values to confirm this.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is unequivocally the performance ceiling for this combo. Its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory, while sufficient for 1080p, becomes a limiting factor at higher resolutions. The GPU's benchmark percentile of 51 versus all other GPUs places it in the mid-range, with an average benchmark score of 12331. It performs within 1.7% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER and the NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm, showing that it is a well-understood, mid-tier Pascal architecture part.

The core clocks of 1506 MHz base and 1683 MHz boost are modest by modern standards, and the 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is the primary driver behind the FPS drops. The data shows a clear relationship: as the resolution increases, the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth (256.3 GB/s) become insufficient to maintain high frame rates. The difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p (128.5 FPS vs. 59.1 FPS) highlights how the GPU's shading units and TMUs are strained by the increased workload of the Ultra preset. For a game like Lockdown Protocol, the GTX 1070 is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can still deliver a competitive experience on Medium to High settings.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 1405 out of 1637, this system is positioned in the bottom 15% of all tested combinations. This ranking reflects the GTX 1070's aging architecture and its inability to handle the demands of modern titles at higher resolutions. The CPU, while ranking in the 77th percentile, is not the saving grace here; the overall combo score is dragged down by the GPU's 51st percentile ranking.

The data implies that this pairing is a legacy configuration, likely representing an upgrade path from a previous generation. It is not a competitive setup for 4K gaming, as the 27.1 FPS average on Ultra is far from smooth. Even at 1440p, the best average FPS is 94.9 on Low, which is playable but requires significant graphical compromises. The ranking suggests that users with this combo should prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, focusing on 1080p to achieve a playable experience. The deltaPct data for the GPU shows it is nearly tied with the GTX 1650 SUPER, but the i5-12400F's superior CPU performance compared to older i7 parts may offer a slight advantage in CPU-light scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Lockdown Protocol with this hardware?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo consistently exceeds 60 FPS on Medium settings (92.1 FPS) and High settings (79.9 FPS). At 1440p, only the Low preset breaks 90 FPS, and 4K is only playable on Low at 59.9 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its closest rival, the GTX 1650 SUPER?

A: The GTX 1070's average benchmark score is 12331, which is 1.4% lower than the GTX 1650 SUPER's score of 12504. This indicates a near-identical level of performance, making the two cards effectively interchangeable in this context.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck at 1080p Ultra?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 59.1, which is well below the CPU's potential. The i5-12400F's single-thread score of 909 suggests it could drive higher frame rates if the GPU were faster.

Q: What is the expected frame rate at 4K with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings is 40.9 FPS. This is below the standard 60 FPS target, indicating a less-than-smooth experience for fast-paced gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to the Intel Core i7-8700K?

A: The i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19221, which is 0.1% higher than the i7-8700K's score of 19210. The performance delta is negligible, meaning they are essentially equal in workload capacity.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The GTX 1070 is at the 51st percentile, meaning it performs better than half of all GPUs in the database. This places it squarely in the mid-range tier for overall compute and graphics performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target display resolution. For 1080p, the Medium preset is the clear sweet spot, delivering 92.1 FPS on average. This provides a significant 12.2 FPS improvement over High settings and a 33 FPS improvement over Ultra, while still offering a substantial visual upgrade over the Low preset. The High preset at 79.9 FPS is also viable for users who prioritize visual fidelity and have a 75Hz monitor.

For 1440p, the Low preset is the only setting that guarantees a fluid experience, hitting 94.9 FPS. The Medium preset at 65.8 FPS is borderline, suitable for gamers who can tolerate occasional dips. High and Ultra at 1440p (62 FPS and 46.8 FPS) are not recommended for competitive play due to the risk of frame drops. At 4K, the Low preset at 59.9 FPS is the only playable option, and even then, it is close to the edge. Users with a 4K display should strongly consider lowering the resolution to 1440p for a better experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows: Low settings deliver 128.5 FPS, Medium settings deliver 92.1 FPS, High settings deliver 79.9 FPS, and Ultra settings deliver 59.1 FPS. This shows a clear hierarchy, with a 69.4 FPS difference between the lowest and highest presets.

Moving up to 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. The Low preset averages 94.9 FPS, Medium averages 65.8 FPS, High averages 62 FPS, and Ultra averages 46.8 FPS. The scaling is less linear here, with a smaller gap between Medium and High. At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed. Low settings produce an average of 59.9 FPS, Medium drops to 43.2 FPS, High to 40.9 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 27.1 FPS. The data confirms a consistent pattern: the GTX 1070 cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K on any preset, and only the Low preset manages to stay above 30 FPS.