Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title, presents an interesting case study when paired with the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080. The measured data reveals a configuration that is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but shows signs of CPU limitation at 1080p. The benchmark results indicate a system capable of delivering high refresh rates across the board, yet the scaling patterns between settings and resolutions warrant a closer look at where the bottleneck truly lies.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this combo suggests that the "High" preset offers the most balanced experience across all tested resolutions, providing a significant jump in visual fidelity without the steep performance penalty seen in "Ultra". At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an average of 206 FPS, which is more than sufficient for high-refresh-rate displays. Moving to Ultra drops this to 155 FPS, a 25% reduction for what is likely a marginal visual gain. The Medium preset sits between these at 236 FPS, but the incremental upgrade to High is generally more impactful for image quality in a fast-paced FPS.

At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 151 FPS, which is excellent for demanding shooters. The Ultra preset still manages a respectable 113 FPS, but the 38 FPS gap between High and Ultra suggests diminishing returns. The data implies that players with 144Hz monitors at 1440p should stick to High to guarantee a locked frame rate, while those with adaptive sync displays could experiment with Ultra. For 4K gaming at 3840x2160, the High preset's 98 FPS average is the clear recommendation, as it stays above the 60 FPS threshold and approaches the 100 FPS mark that many consider the new standard for premium experiences. The Medium preset at 4K provides 112 FPS, which is tempting, but the visual downgrade from High is noticeable in a game that relies on clarity for spotting enemies.

The Low preset, while delivering the highest frame rates (286 FPS at 1080p, 244 FPS at 1440p, 157 FPS at 4K), is a poor choice for a competitive FPS where environmental detail and shadow information can be crucial. The data suggests that Low is only beneficial for players on extreme refresh rate monitors (240Hz+) who prioritize raw responsiveness above all else. In summary, the "High" preset is the sweet spot for this hardware combination, offering a consistent 60+ FPS experience even at 4K while maintaining a high level of visual quality.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, with its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and a 256-bit bus providing 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, is the dominant component in this pairing. Its core specifications—9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs—directly translate to the impressive raw frame rates observed. The GPU's boost clock of 2505 MHz is a key factor in sustaining high average FPS across all settings, while its 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance ensures it can handle the complex shaders and post-processing effects common in modern FPS titles.

The VRAM capacity of 16 GB appears more than adequate for Lockdown Protocol at the tested settings. Even at 4K Ultra, where texture memory demand is highest, the card does not seem to be constrained by memory capacity, as evidenced by the playable 73 FPS average. The RTX 4080's position in the market is reinforced by its nearest rivals in the benchmark database. It scores within 0.1% of the RTX 4080 SUPER, indicating that the standard model is nearly identical in performance to its successor. Interestingly, it trails the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 2.6% in average benchmark score, which is a surprising result given the generational gap, though this is a synthetic benchmark average and not specific to game performance.

The data indicates that the GPU's role is primarily to provide headroom. At 1080p, the CPU becomes the limiting factor, but at 1440p and 4K, the RTX 4080's immense compute power is what allows the system to maintain high frame rates. The transition from High to Ultra settings at any resolution shows a consistent performance drop, reflecting the increased load on the GPU's shading units and ROPs. The GPU's 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores are present but unused in this dataset, suggesting that the game's default rasterization pipeline is already well-served by the Ada Lovelace architecture's raw throughput.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling across resolutions provides clear evidence of the system's bottleneck shifting. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves 206 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, this drops to 151 FPS, a 27% reduction. At 4K High, the average falls to 98 FPS, which is another 35% drop from 1440p. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario; the RTX 4080 is working progressively harder to fill more pixels, and the frame rate scales inversely with the pixel count.

However, the Low settings data tells a more nuanced story. At 1080p Low, the system hits 286 FPS, but at 1440p Low, it only drops to 244 FPS (a 15% reduction), and at 4K Low, it maintains 157 FPS (a 36% reduction from 1440p). The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings (42 FPS) compared to the large drop from 1440p to 4K (87 FPS) suggests that at 1080p Low, the CPU is holding the system back. The Intel Core i5-13400F, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, is likely the limiting factor in this low-resolution, low-settings scenario, as the GPU has enough headroom to render frames faster than the CPU can feed them.

This pattern is consistent across all settings. The delta between 1080p and 1440p is smaller than the delta between 1440p and 4K for Low and Medium presets, but for High and Ultra, the drops are more linear. This implies that as settings increase, the GPU load becomes more uniform across resolutions, and the CPU has less of an impact. The data suggests that for players targeting 1080p with this combo, the CPU will be a bottleneck even at High settings, but for 4K gaming, the GPU is the sole constraint, and the CPU's performance is sufficient to keep up.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a 144 FPS average?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 with High settings is the only resolution and setting combination that achieves over 144 FPS (151 FPS) while offering a high visual quality. At 1080p, the High preset reaches 206 FPS, but the CPU bottleneck may cause inconsistent frame times.

Q: Does the RTX 4080's 16 GB VRAM cause any limitations in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data does not show any VRAM-related performance constraints. The 16 GB of GDDR6X memory appears sufficient for all tested settings and resolutions, as the system maintains playable frame rates even at 4K Ultra.

Q: How does the i5-13400F compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25292, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25284, 0% difference) and the Intel Core 5 120 (25362, -0.3% difference). It is slightly ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H by 0.4%.

Q: Is there a significant difference between the RTX 4080 and RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The benchmark data shows a negligible performance difference. The RTX 4080 scores 54247 on average, while the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54209, placing the standard model 0.1% ahead of the SUPER.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The only min FPS values recorded are for the Medium settings preset. At 1080p, the min FPS is 201; at 1440p, it is 147; and at 4K, it is 95. No min FPS data is available for Low, High, or Ultra settings.

Q: Why does the 4K Ultra preset only achieve 73 FPS?

A: The 4K Ultra preset represents the most demanding configuration, requiring the GPU to process four times the pixels of 1080p while also maxing out visual effects. The 73 FPS average indicates a heavy GPU load, but it remains playable.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F, a Raptor Lake-S part with 10 cores (likely 6 P-cores and 4 E-cores) and 16 threads, plays a supporting role in this configuration. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.60 GHz are modest by modern standards, but its 20 MB of shared L3 cache helps with gaming workloads. The CPU's synthetic benchmark scores are solid, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22604 and a single-core score of 3191, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs.

The data from the game, however, suggests that the CPU is the limiting factor at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system produces 286 FPS, but the frame rate does not scale linearly with resolution as much as one would expect if the GPU were the sole bottleneck. The CPU's 16 threads are likely being maxed out at this high frame rate, preventing the system from reaching even higher numbers. This is a common scenario in CPU-bound scenarios where the GPU is waiting for draw calls to be processed.

In contrast, at 4K, the CPU's role diminishes. The frame rates at 4K (98 FPS High, 73 FPS Ultra) are clearly GPU-limited, as the RTX 4080 is working at its full capacity to render the increased pixel count. The CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score of 7314 indicates it has enough multi-threaded performance to keep up with the GPU's output at higher resolutions. The CPU's performance is further contextualized by its rivals: it is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS and Ryzen 5 5600X3D in average benchmark score, showing that it is a mid-range performer in the CPU hierarchy. For a game like Lockdown Protocol, the i5-13400F provides adequate performance for 1440p and 4K gaming but does introduce a bottleneck for esports-oriented 1080p play.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 286 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this combo. The Medium preset follows at 236 FPS, with a recorded min FPS of 201 and max FPS of 272. The High preset achieves 206 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 155 FPS. This 1080p data shows a clear hierarchy, with a 45% difference between Low and Ultra.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop across the board. The Low preset averages 244 FPS, the Medium preset averages 173 FPS (min 147, max 199), the High preset averages 151 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 113 FPS. The relative scaling between settings at 1440p is more consistent than at 1080p, indicating a more balanced load between CPU and GPU. The 4K resolution (3840x2160) results are the most demanding. The Low preset still manages a solid 157 FPS, but the Medium preset drops to 112 FPS (min 95, max 129). The High preset averages 98 FPS, and the Ultra preset is the only configuration that dips below the 60 FPS threshold for a modern gaming standard, averaging 73 FPS.

This breakdown highlights the GPU's capability at lower resolutions, where it can push well beyond 200 FPS, and its limitations at 4K Ultra, where the visual demands become extreme. The data also shows that the Medium preset provides the most consistent frame pacing, as it is the only preset with recorded min/max FPS values across all three resolutions, suggesting a stable experience without severe frame drops.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of the benchmark database, this combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 284th out of 3714 tested combos. This places it in the top 7.6% of all configurations, indicating a high-performance pairing. The rank reflects the system's ability to handle demanding titles like Lockdown Protocol at high settings and resolutions, though it is not the absolute top-tier setup. The RTX 4080's end-of-life production status and the CPU's mid-range positioning contribute to this ranking.

The combo's performance is heavily influenced by the GPU's strength. The RTX 4080's average benchmark score of 54247 places it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, and it is virtually tied with the RTX 4080 SUPER. However, the CPU's 77th percentile ranking drags the overall combo down slightly. If paired with a more powerful CPU, such as a higher-core-count Raptor Lake or a Ryzen 7000-series part, this GPU would likely rank higher. Conversely, the 284th rank out of 3714 combos is a strong showing, confirming that this is a capable system for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming and solid 4K gaming. The data suggests that while the CPU is a minor bottleneck at 1080p, the overall system performance is well-balanced for the majority of gaming scenarios, making it a reliable choice for players who want a high-end experience without the absolute top-tier hardware.