Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i5-13400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 delivers a high-refresh-rate experience in Lockdown Protocol, but the data reveals a clear shift from GPU-bound to CPU-bound behavior as resolution drops. At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 76.9 FPS, while at 1080p Low it reaches 282.4 FPS, a 3.7x spread that indicates the RTX 5080 has ample headroom at lower resolutions, but the i5-13400F's 10 cores and 16 threads begin to limit frame rates below 1440p. The combo ranks 73rd out of 1,637 tested combinations, placing it in the top 4.5% of all pairings, which is strong but not elite for a flagship GPU.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but not uniform across settings, revealing where each component becomes the bottleneck. At Low settings, scaling from 1080p (282.4 FPS) to 1440p (258.8 FPS) costs only 8.4%, but moving to 4K (165.2 FPS) costs an additional 36.2%, a total 41.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K. This pattern indicates that at Low settings, the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p and 1440p, while the GPU takes over as the constraint at 4K.

At High settings, the scaling is more dramatic: 1080p delivers 220.7 FPS, 1440p drops to 158.5 FPS (−28.2%), and 4K falls to 107 FPS (−51.5% from 1080p). This steeper curve at High settings suggests the GPU's workload scales more aggressively with resolution when visual fidelity increases. The RTX 5080's 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth handle the 4K texture loads, but the frame rate still drops substantially.

Ultra settings show the largest absolute decline: 162.9 FPS at 1080p, 123.4 FPS at 1440p (−24.2%), and 76.9 FPS at 4K (−52.8% from 1080p). The 4K Ultra result of 76.9 FPS is the lowest measured in the entire dataset, indicating that even a top-tier GPU struggles with this game's maximum settings at 4K. The data suggests that for 4K play, Medium settings (116.6 FPS) provide a much more comfortable frame rate than Ultra.

The scaling pattern across all settings shows that the RTX 5080 is the dominant factor at 4K, where even Low settings drop to 165.2 FPS, a 41.5% reduction from the 1080p Low score. This confirms that Lockdown Protocol is heavily GPU-bound at 4K, while the CPU's influence becomes more apparent at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 250 FPS.

GPU Role

The RTX 5080's memory configuration is central to Lockdown Protocol's performance. With 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, the card delivers 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, a figure that explains why 4K High (107 FPS) and 4K Medium (116.6 FPS) remain playable despite the game's heavy texture loads. The GPU's boost clock of 2617 MHz, paired with 10,752 shading units, drives the pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s, which is sufficient to push 4K frame rates above 100 FPS at Medium settings.

The GPU's 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores suggest the card is well-equipped for future ray tracing updates, though the measured data does not include ray tracing results. The FP32 throughput of 56.28 TFLOPS indicates substantial compute headroom, but benchmark results show the card's PassMark G3D score of 36,565 places it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc A570M (1.6% lower score), Intel Arc Pro A60 (1.9% higher), and Intel Arc A580 (2.5% lower), showing that the RTX 5080 sits in a competitive mid-to-high tier based on synthetic benchmarks.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8,637 and Geekbench OpenCL score of 264,461 provide additional context. The card's power requirements are substantial, a 360 W TDP with a suggested 750 W PSU, but the data does not measure power draw directly in game. The RTX 5080's 89th percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with a launch MSRP of 999 USD, positions it as a high-end part, though the measured FPS in Lockdown Protocol shows it can be CPU-limited at 1080p where it delivers 282.4 FPS on Low settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-13400F + RTX 5080 combination ranks 73rd out of 1,637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 4.5% of all pairings. This rank is impressive given that the CPU is not a flagship part, its 82nd percentile ranking among all CPUs and average benchmark score of 25,236 puts it in solid mid-range territory. The GPU's 89th percentile ranking (average score 59,188) is higher than the CPU's, suggesting the combo's strong game rank is driven primarily by the graphics card.

The CPU's nearest rivals illustrate its positioning: the Intel Core i7-13620H scores 25,201 (0.1% higher), the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D scores 25,365 (0.5% higher), and the AMD EPYC 9474F scores 25,103 (0.5% higher). These minuscule deltas mean the i5-13400F is essentially tied with its closest competitors in synthetic tests, yet in Lockdown Protocol, the combo still achieves top-5% ranking due to the GPU's strength.

The GPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Arc A570M (58,239, 1.6% lower), Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326, 1.9% higher), and Intel Arc A580 (57,756, 2.5% lower). The RTX 5080's average benchmark score of 59,188 is notably higher than its PassMark G3D score of 36,565, indicating that its compute performance (GPU compute score of 21,789) significantly boosts its overall average. This strong compute performance likely contributes to the combo's solid game ranking, though Lockdown Protocol's specific workload favors the GPU's raw rasterization power.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K resolution, the data strongly favors Medium settings (116.6 FPS) over High (107 FPS) or Ultra (76.9 FPS). The jump from Medium to High costs only 9.6 FPS (−8.2%), while the jump from High to Ultra costs 30.1 FPS (−28.1%). Medium provides the best balance of visual quality and performance at 4K, delivering 116.6 FPS which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 1440p, High settings (158.5 FPS) are the sweet spot, offering a 36.3 FPS improvement over Ultra (123.4 FPS) while only sacrificing 24.6 FPS compared to Medium (182.2 FPS). The 1440p High result of 158.5 FPS is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors, and the drop to Ultra is not worth the visual gains given the substantial FPS loss.

At 1080p, Medium settings (252.9 FPS) deliver nearly the same performance as Low (282.4 FPS) while providing better visuals, a mere 29.5 FPS difference. High (220.7 FPS) is also viable, but Ultra (162.9 FPS) drops below 200 FPS, which may be noticeable on 240 Hz displays. For competitive play at 1080p, Low settings (282.4 FPS) maximize frame rate, but Medium offers the best trade-off for most users.

Overall, the data indicates that Medium settings provide the most consistent experience across all resolutions: 116.6 FPS at 4K, 182.2 FPS at 1440p, and 252.9 FPS at 1080p. This preset avoids the steep performance penalties of Ultra while maintaining higher fidelity than Low.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results span from 162.9 FPS (Ultra) to 282.4 FPS (Low). The settings ladder is: Low 282.4, Medium 252.9, High 220.7, Ultra 162.9. The gap between High and Ultra is 57.8 FPS (−26.2%), which is the largest single-settings drop at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, results range from 123.4 FPS (Ultra) to 258.8 FPS (Low). The ladder: Low 258.8, Medium 182.2, High 158.5, Ultra 123.4. The drop from Low to Medium is 76.6 FPS (−29.6%), and from High to Ultra is 35.1 FPS (−22.2%).

At 3840x2160, results range from 76.9 FPS (Ultra) to 165.2 FPS (Low). The ladder: Low 165.2, Medium 116.6, High 107, Ultra 76.9. The drop from Low to Medium is 48.6 FPS (−29.4%), while High to Ultra costs 30.1 FPS (−28.1%).

Comparing resolutions at the same settings: Low settings show 282.4 (1080p) → 258.8 (1440p) → 165.2 (4K), a total drop of 41.5% from 1080p to 4K. Medium settings show 252.9 → 182.2 → 116.6, a 53.9% drop. High settings show 220.7 → 158.5 → 107, a 51.5% drop. Ultra settings show 162.9 → 123.4 → 76.9, a 52.8% drop. The largest percentage drop is at Medium settings, while Low settings show the smallest relative decline.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data shows 1440p High (158.5 FPS) offers the best balance, but 1440p Medium (182.2 FPS) provides higher frame rates with only a modest visual trade-off. 4K is playable at Medium (116.6 FPS) but drops to 76.9 FPS at Ultra.

Q: How does the i5-13400F compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-13400F scores 25,236 on average, which is within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25,365), 0.1% of the Intel Core i7-13620H (25,201), and 0.5% of the AMD EPYC 9474F (25,103). These are effectively tied scores.

Q: Is the RTX 5080 the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 282.4 FPS, while at 4K Low it drops to 165.2 FPS. The 41.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings indicates the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, but at 1080p the CPU is likely constraining performance.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking?

A: The combo ranks 73rd out of 1,637 tested combinations, placing it in the top 4.5% of all pairings. This is driven more by the GPU's 89th percentile ranking than the CPU's 82nd percentile.

Q: How much FPS does Ultra cost compared to High?

A: At 1080p, Ultra (162.9) is 57.8 FPS lower than High (220.7), a 26.2% drop. At 1440p, Ultra (123.4) is 35.1 FPS lower than High (158.5), a 22.2% drop. At 4K, Ultra (76.9) is 30.1 FPS lower than High (107), a 28.1% drop.

Q: Does the GPU's synthetic benchmark performance match its game performance?

A: The RTX 5080's average benchmark score of 59,188 is 1.6% higher than the Intel Arc A570M (58,239) and 2.5% higher than the Intel Arc A580 (57,756), but in Lockdown Protocol the card delivers 4K Medium at 116.6 FPS, which suggests strong real-world rasterization performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F's 10 cores and 16 threads are a key factor in this combo's performance ceiling. With a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.60 GHz, the CPU delivers solid single-thread performance, its 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3,004 indicate capable per-core performance. The 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 per core help feed the GPU at high frame rates.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p Low, where the combo achieves 282.4 FPS. This high frame rate suggests the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output at lower resolutions, but the 41.5% drop to 4K Low (165.2 FPS) indicates the GPU becomes the bottleneck as resolution increases. The CPU's PassMark multithread score of 25,032 and Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21,279 show balanced multi-threaded performance, which is relevant for a game that may use multiple threads for physics and AI.

The CPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25,236, positions it just above the Intel Core i7-13620H (25,201, +0.1%) and just below the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25,365, −0.5%). These tiny deltas mean the i5-13400F is essentially interchangeable with its closest rivals in synthetic tests, yet in Lockdown Protocol the combo still achieves 4K Medium at 116.6 FPS. The CPU's 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support make it a flexible pairing, though the data does not specify which memory type was used in testing.

The CPU's 3DMark results show scaling from 1,880 (2 threads) to 7,314 (16 threads), indicating good multi-threading efficiency. The single-thread score of 960 is modest compared to the 16-thread score of 7,314, suggesting the CPU's strength lies in multi-threaded workloads. In Lockdown Protocol, this translates to strong performance at 1440p High (158.5 FPS) where both CPU and GPU contribute to the result, but at 1080p Low the CPU's single-thread performance may limit frame rates below what the GPU could theoretically deliver.