Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i5-14400F + Intel Arc B390

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the Intel Arc B390 produces a curious result in Lockdown Protocol: the combination ranks 2512 out of 2828 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems. Yet the benchmark data reveals that this is not a uniformly weak performer — instead, it shows a system whose capabilities shift dramatically depending on resolution and settings. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 88 FPS, which is genuinely playable for a competitive FPS. At 4K Ultra, it collapses to 19 FPS. This wide gulf suggests a system where the GPU is the primary constraint, but the CPU's headroom is never fully exploited either. The question is not whether this combo is fast — it is not, relative to other tested configurations — but rather where its operational sweet spot lies and whether users can tolerate the compromises required to reach it.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and consistent decline as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound configuration. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 costs 23 FPS (from 88 to 65, a 26% drop), and moving from 1440p to 3840x2160 costs another 23 FPS (from 65 to 42, a 35% drop). At High settings, the same resolution ladder shows 55 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p (a 27% drop), and 26 FPS at 4K (a 35% drop). This pattern — where the percentage loss from 1440p to 4K is consistently larger than from 1080p to 1440p — indicates that pixel throughput becomes increasingly dominant as resolution climbs.

The Medium preset tells a similar story but adds frame time variance. At 1080p Medium, the average is 63 FPS with a minimum of 53 and maximum of 72. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 46 FPS with a range of 39 to 53. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 30 FPS with a range of 25 to 34. The min-to-max spread remains roughly 10 FPS at 1080p and 1440p, but shrinks to 9 FPS at 4K, suggesting that as the GPU saturates, frame pacing becomes more consistent even though raw throughput plummets.

Ultra settings exhibit the most dramatic scaling failure. At 1080p Ultra, the combo manages 41 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, it drops to 30 FPS (a 27% loss); at 4K Ultra, it hits 19 FPS (a 37% loss from 1440p). The 4K Ultra result is barely interactive, and the data implies that any attempt to run this game at maximum fidelity on this hardware is futile beyond 1080p. The resolution scaling behavior strongly suggests the limiting component is the GPU: the Arc B390's specifications point to a modest compute resource, and the measured frame rates align with a chip that is overwhelmed by pixel fill demands at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution built on the Xe3-LPG architecture, fabricated on a 3 nm process. Its base clock is 300 MHz, boosting to 2500 MHz, and it draws up to 80 W. The memory subsystem is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM — size, type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent." This is a fundamental limitation for Lockdown Protocol, as the game's texture and geometry demands at higher settings require fast, dedicated memory that this GPU simply does not possess.

The GPU's compute resources are modest: 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, 24 raster output units, and 12 ray tracing cores. Its peak pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s. Floating-point performance is 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 and 15.36 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1). These numbers place the Arc B390 in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, and its only benchmark score — 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 — puts it in the company of NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% faster), GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% faster), GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% faster), and GT 710 (1443, 2.7% faster). All of these are ancient or entry-level parts, which contextualizes why Lockdown Protocol runs so poorly at high resolutions.

The GPU role in this combo is therefore dominant and limiting. At 1080p Low, the 88 FPS result shows the GPU can keep up when the workload is light. But as settings increase, the lack of dedicated memory bandwidth and the small 24-ROP count create bottlenecks. The 19 FPS at 4K Ultra is not just a matter of raw compute — the system-shared memory means the GPU competes with the CPU for the same memory pool, and at 4K Ultra the data footprint likely exceeds what the integrated memory controller can efficiently feed. The ray tracing cores, while present, are unlikely to provide meaningful acceleration in this title given the overall low GPU percentile ranking.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F provides a stark contrast to the GPU. This is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Raptor Lake Refresh generation, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. It has 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU sits in the 83rd percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 32279. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (32233, 0.1% slower), Intel Core i9-11900 (32226, 0.2% slower), AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (32354, 0.2% faster), and Intel Core i7-12800H (32121, 0.5% slower).

In synthetic workloads, the i5-14400F shows strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 21645, with a single-core score of 3055. Geekbench multicore is 11268, and single-core is 2058. Passmark multithread is 25470, with single-thread at 3701. The CPU's 65 W TDP and active production status suggest it is a well-binned mainstream part. The fact that this combo ranks 2512 out of 2828 despite having a top-17th-percentile CPU confirms that the GPU is the binding constraint.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU role is likely to be most evident at 1080p Low, where the GPU is less stressed. The 88 FPS result there may be closer to the CPU's gaming ceiling than the GPU's, though the data does not isolate this directly. At higher resolutions, the CPU's ample 20 MB L3 cache and 16 threads should prevent any CPU-side stutters, meaning the frame rate drops are almost certainly GPU-driven. The CPU's 4.70 GHz boost clock is sufficient for FPS gameplay, which typically relies on single-thread performance; its 3055 Cinebench R23 single-core score indicates it can handle the game's logic and physics without becoming the limiting factor. The data suggests the CPU is effectively idle headroom in most of these measurements, waiting for a more capable GPU to feed.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only at 1080p Low, where it achieves 88 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 63 FPS, which is still above 60. At 1080p High, it falls to 55 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 41 FPS.

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where any settings preset reaches or exceeds 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, the best result is 65 FPS on Low, but Medium drops to 46 FPS. At 3840x2160, even Low settings only produce 42 FPS.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the Arc B390 scores 1482. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, scores 1463 (1.3% slower). Other close rivals include the GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% slower), GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% slower), and GT 710 (1443, 2.7% slower).

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14400F a bottleneck in this setup?

A: The data indicates no. The CPU ranks in the 83rd percentile of all processors, and its nearest rivals are all within 0.5% in average benchmark score. The combo's low rank (2512 of 2828) is far more likely attributable to the GPU, which sits in the 9th percentile.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured average is 46 FPS, with a minimum of 39 and maximum of 53. This is playable but not smooth for a competitive FPS, and the 14 FPS spread between min and max suggests some variability during intense scenes.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K?

A: Poorly across all settings. Low produces 42 FPS, Medium 30 FPS, High 26 FPS, and Ultra 19 FPS. None of these are ideal for a fast-paced FPS, and the Ultra result is borderline unplayable.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data clearly identifies 1920x1080 Low as the only configuration that delivers a high frame rate (88 FPS) suitable for competitive play in an FPS title. However, the game is still playable at 1080p Medium (63 FPS average, 53 minimum), which likely offers better visual fidelity without sacrificing responsiveness. For users who prioritize smoothness over visuals, 1080p Low is the safest choice. At 1080p High, the 55 FPS average is borderline — it may be acceptable for casual play but is risky for ranked matches where every frame matters. 1080p Ultra should be avoided, as the 41 FPS average falls below the threshold for comfortable FPS gameplay.

At 1440p, the data suggests only Low settings (65 FPS) are viable, and even then, the margin above 60 FPS is thin. Medium at 1440p drops to 46 FPS, which is a significant compromise. At 4K, no settings preset is recommended, as even Low (42 FPS) fails to reach 60 FPS, and the visual difference between Low and Ultra (19 FPS) is not worth the 23 FPS loss. The best experience per the measured rows is 1080p Low or Medium, depending on whether the user favors frame rate or visual quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 88 FPS. Medium averages 63 FPS, with a minimum of 53 and maximum of 72. High averages 55 FPS. Ultra averages 41 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is consistent — each step up in settings costs roughly 15-20 FPS, with the largest single drop occurring from Medium to High (8 FPS) and the smallest from Low to Medium (25 FPS drop, which is actually the largest).

At 2560x1440, performance degrades noticeably. Low averages 65 FPS. Medium averages 46 FPS, with a range of 39 to 53. High averages 40 FPS. Ultra averages 30 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 19 FPS, and from Medium to High is 6 FPS, with High to Ultra costing 10 FPS. The 1440p results are roughly 25-30% lower than their 1080p counterparts across all settings.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles. Low averages 42 FPS. Medium averages 30 FPS, with a range of 25 to 34. High averages 26 FPS. Ultra averages 19 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 12 FPS, Medium to High is 4 FPS, and High to Ultra is 7 FPS. The 4K results are roughly 35-50% lower than 1440p, with the Ultra preset suffering the largest relative loss.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2512 out of 2828 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems. This low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the GPU, which sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 1482. The CPU, by contrast, is in the 83rd percentile with an average score of 32279. This massive disparity between CPU and GPU capability creates a system that is severely imbalanced for gaming.

The rank implies that most other tested combos outperform this one in Lockdown Protocol. Given the GPU's nearest rivals are all older NVIDIA entry-level parts (GT 520MX, 800M, GT 625 OEM, GT 710), the Arc B390 is competing at the very bottom of the GPU hierarchy. The measured FPS data confirms this: even at 1080p Low, the 88 FPS result is only modest, and most modern gaming systems would exceed this comfortably. The combo's rank of 2512 suggests that roughly 89% of tested systems deliver better performance in this game, which aligns with the GPU's low percentile standing. The i5-14400F is effectively wasted in this pairing — its 83rd-percentile processing power has no GPU to feed, and the result is a system that cannot take advantage of the CPU's capabilities in a GPU-bound title like Lockdown Protocol.