Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol puts the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti combination through a demanding set of scenarios. The measured data reveals a pairing that scales predictably with resolution, with the GPU taking on increasing responsibility as pixel count rises. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results to show exactly where this combo excels, where it strains, and which settings deliver the playable experience you are looking for.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data shows a classic scaling curve that shifts the bottleneck from the CPU to the GPU as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo hits 274.9 FPS. This high frame rate indicates that the processor is capable of feeding frames quickly, but the gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is telling. At 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 150.4 FPS, a 45% reduction from the Low preset. This shows that even at 1080p, the RTX 5070 Ti's rendering load is significant enough to pull performance down, though the CPU still has headroom.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern intensifies. The Low preset delivers 232.7 FPS, while Ultra falls to 107.5 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra here is 125.2 FPS, which is a larger absolute gap than at 1080p. This suggests that the GPU is becoming the primary limiter as the pixel count increases, with the CPU's role diminishing. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings shows a consistent drop: High goes from 197.9 to 146.9 FPS, and Medium from 225.1 to 165.5 FPS. These reductions are roughly 25-27%, which aligns with the increase in pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is firmly in charge. The Low preset still manages 152.9 FPS, but Ultra drops to 67.4 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is steep: High falls from 146.9 to 96.2 FPS, and Medium from 165.5 to 108.9 FPS. The fact that Low at 4K (152.9 FPS) is still higher than Ultra at 1440p (107.5 FPS) highlights how much the settings preset matters at higher resolutions. The data suggests that the RTX 5070 Ti’s 16 GB of VRAM and 896.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the load, as the performance drops are consistent with raw compute scaling rather than memory capacity limits.

The key takeaway from the resolution scaling is that this combo is not uniformly bound. At 1080p, the i5-12400F with its 6 cores and 12 threads can push high frame rates, but the GPU still dictates the ceiling at higher presets. At 4K, the CPU is largely irrelevant to the FPS differences between presets; the GPU's 2452 MHz boost clock and 43.94 TFLOPS FP32 performance are the deciding factors. Users targeting 4K should expect a significant performance penalty for Ultra settings, while 1080p gamers can rely on the CPU to keep frame rates high.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The highest measured average is 274.9 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 197.9 at 1080p to 96.2 at 4K. This represents a performance reduction of approximately 51%.

Q: Is the RTX 5070 Ti the bottleneck at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS is 67.4. Given that the CPU has ample headroom at lower resolutions (274.9 FPS at 1080p Low), the data indicates the GPU's rendering workload is the limiting factor at 4K Ultra.

Q: Does the combo maintain playable frame rates at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: Yes. At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 165.5, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the i5-12400F compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19221, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-8700K (19210) and 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i5-1335U (19167).

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 274.9 FPS, while Ultra averages 150.4 FPS. This is a difference of 124.5 FPS, showing that Ultra settings cost a significant amount of performance.

GPU Role

The RTX 5070 Ti is the dominant component in this pairing for Lockdown Protocol. Its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient to feed the GPU's 8960 shading units at all tested resolutions. The card's boost clock of 2452 MHz is the active frequency during gaming loads, and it enables the high frame rates seen in the data. The GPU's raw compute power is rated at 43.94 TFLOPS FP32, which directly correlates with the FPS differences between presets.

The measured FPS data shows that the GPU's workload scales almost linearly with the quality preset. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 124.5 FPS, indicating that the GPU is doing more work per frame at higher settings. This is expected, as Ultra presets typically increase draw calls, texture detail, and post-processing effects. The GPU's 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores are present in the hardware, but the benchmark data does not isolate ray tracing or DLSS performance; the results are purely rasterized frame rates.

The VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in these results. The 16 GB buffer is more than adequate for the highest preset at 4K, as evidenced by the fact that the card still produces playable frame rates (67.4 FPS) at Ultra. If the VRAM were insufficient, we would expect to see a steeper drop in performance at 4K Ultra compared to 1440p Ultra, but the scaling is consistent with the pixel count increase. The GPU's 96 ROPs handle the pixel output, and the 235.4 GPixel/s pixel rate supports the frame rates observed.

The GPU's position in the market is clear from its benchmarks. It scores 52086 on average, which places it on par with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 (52085, 0% delta). It is also slightly ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7700S (52505, -0.8% delta) and the NVIDIA RTX A1000 (50826, 2.5% delta). This means the RTX 5070 Ti is a high-end card that sits in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, and its performance in Lockdown Protocol reflects that tier.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti ranks 141st out of 1637 combos for Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the top 8.6% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing given the CPU's mid-range positioning. The i5-12400F itself is in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 19221 is close to its nearest rivals, with a 0.1% delta versus the i7-8700K and a 1.3% delta versus the AMD EPYC 7773X.

The high combo rank is driven primarily by the GPU's performance. The RTX 5070 Ti is in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, and its average score of 52086 is statistically tied with the RTX 4080 (0% delta). This means that for Lockdown Protocol, the GPU is providing top-tier frame rates, and the CPU is not holding it back significantly. The rank of 141 suggests that there are 140 combos with better performance, likely featuring higher-end CPUs like newer Core i7 or i9 parts, but the gap is not massive.

The data indicates that the i5-12400F is a capable partner for the RTX 5070 Ti in this game. At 1080p, the CPU is able to push frame rates above 270 FPS on Low settings, which requires strong single-thread performance. The 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and Geekbench single-core score of 2221 support this. The combo's rank would likely be higher if the CPU had more cores or higher clocks, but for Lockdown Protocol, the 6-core/12-thread configuration is sufficient to avoid being the primary bottleneck at standard gaming resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the performance is consistently high. Low settings produce an average of 274.9 FPS. Medium settings reduce this to 225.1 FPS, a drop of 49.8 FPS. High settings yield 197.9 FPS, and Ultra drops further to 150.4 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p is a 45.3% reduction in frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates are lower but still robust. Low settings achieve 232.7 FPS. Medium settings deliver 165.5 FPS, which is a 67.2 FPS drop from Low. High settings produce 146.9 FPS, and Ultra falls to 107.5 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is the largest single drop at this resolution, suggesting that Medium introduces significant GPU workload.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are more moderate. Low settings still manage an average of 152.9 FPS. Medium settings drop to 108.9 FPS. High settings reduce the average to 96.2 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 67.4 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 85.5 FPS, which is the largest absolute gap across all resolutions. This indicates that the GPU is heavily taxed at 4K Ultra, and the i5-12400F is no longer a factor.

The data shows a consistent pattern: the jump from Low to Medium costs more performance than the jump from High to Ultra at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the gap between High and Ultra is larger than the gap between Low and Medium. This suggests that the Ultra preset at 4K includes effects that are disproportionately expensive for the GPU.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p gaming, the High preset at 197.9 FPS is the sweet spot. It offers a substantial visual quality improvement over Low (274.9 FPS) and Medium (225.1 FPS) while still providing frame rates well above 144 Hz. The Ultra preset at 150.4 FPS is also viable for high-refresh-rate monitors, but the 47.5 FPS difference between High and Ultra may not justify the visual gain for most users.

At 1440p, the Medium preset at 165.5 FPS is the recommended choice for competitive play. It provides a high frame rate that exceeds most 144 Hz displays. The High preset at 146.9 FPS is also excellent, offering a balance between visual fidelity and performance. The Ultra preset at 107.5 FPS is playable but may feel less smooth on higher refresh rate monitors. Low settings at 232.7 FPS are only recommended for players who prioritize maximum frame rates over visual quality.

For 4K, the Low preset at 152.9 FPS is the only option that provides a consistently high refresh rate experience. The Medium preset at 108.9 FPS is suitable for 60 Hz displays, and High at 96.2 FPS is also acceptable. The Ultra preset at 67.4 FPS is the most visually impressive but will feel sluggish on fast-moving scenes. Given that the RTX 5070 Ti is a top-tier card, the data suggests that 4K Ultra is pushing the hardware to its limits, and users should either lower the preset or consider a lower resolution for competitive play.

The practical advice is to prioritize the High preset at 1080p or 1440p for the best balance of visuals and performance. At 4K, the Low or Medium presets are recommended to maintain playable frame rates. The data clearly shows that the Ultra preset carries a significant performance penalty at every resolution, and the i5-12400F + RTX 5070 Ti combo is best utilized with settings that keep the GPU workload in check.