Lockdown Protocol

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Lockdown Protocol with the Intel Core i5-14400F and Intel Arc B580 reveals a pronounced sensitivity to resolution, indicating the GPU is the primary limiting factor across all tested configurations. Moving from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 at Low settings, average FPS drops from 153.1 to 72.6 — a 52.6% reduction. At High settings, the drop is even steeper: from 97.5 at 1080p to 46.5 at 4K, a 52.3% decline. This near-linear scaling with pixel count is classic GPU-bound behavior; the CPU has ample headroom, and the frame rate is dictated by the Arc B580's rendering throughput.

The Ultra preset tells a more severe story. At 1080p, the combo manages 72.7 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, that collapses to 32.6 FPS — a 55.2% loss. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 80.4 FPS (153.1 vs 72.7), while at 4K the same settings gap is 40.0 FPS (72.6 vs 32.6). This widening relative gap at higher resolutions confirms that the Arc B580's compute and memory bandwidth are being saturated long before the i5-14400F's 10 cores come under meaningful strain. The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU can still push frames effectively, but at 4K, the GPU's 456.0 GB/s bandwidth and 13.67 TFLOPS FP32 throughput are the hard ceiling.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination ranks 1277 out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. That places it in the lower 22% of all pairings, which is a sobering result for a mid-range CPU and GPU duo. The combo's percentile is dragged down primarily by the GPU: the Arc B580 sits at the 66th percentile among all GPUs, meaning 34% of tested graphics cards outperform it. In contrast, the i5-14400F ranks at the 88th percentile among CPUs, showing the processor is far more competitive within its own market segment.

The measured FPS data reinforces this ranking. At 1080p High, the combo produces 97.5 FPS, which is playable but far from elite. The nearest rivals to the CPU — the Intel Core i7-12800H (deltaPct 0) and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (deltaPct 0.2) — have nearly identical average benchmark scores, suggesting that swapping in those CPUs would yield virtually identical frame rates in this game. The GPU's nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, scores 0.7% higher on average, which is within noise but hints that a different GPU pairing would move the combo up the rankings slightly. The data indicates that this combo is not a top-tier performer for Lockdown Protocol, but it is not a bottom-tier disaster either — it consistently delivers playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Raptor Lake Refresh generation, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock is 2.50 GHz, boosting to 4.70 GHz, and it carries 20 MB of shared L3 cache. In this game, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics data, and the benchmark results suggest it does so without bottlenecking at most settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 153.1 FPS, which is a strong indicator that the i5-14400F can sustain high frame rates when the GPU is not the constraint.

The CPU's multi-threaded performance is robust for a desktop part: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 21914, and Geekbench multi-core hits 11209. These numbers are nearly identical to the nearest rivals — the Core i7-12800H scores 32513 average (deltaPct 0) and the Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 scores 32446 (deltaPct 0.2) — meaning the i5-14400F is essentially on par with those processors in general compute. However, the game's frame rates at 4K Ultra (32.6 FPS) are far below what this CPU could theoretically deliver, confirming that the processor is not the limiting component. The 10 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for Lockdown Protocol's engine, which does not appear to be heavily multi-threaded based on the scaling pattern.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results across all presets. Low settings produce 153.1 FPS average, which is the highest number in the entire dataset. Medium drops to 111.2 FPS, High to 97.5 FPS, and Ultra to 72.7 FPS. The step from Low to Medium (41.9 FPS drop) is the largest single-preset jump at 1080p, indicating that Medium introduces significant GPU workload increases. The spread from Low to Ultra is 80.4 FPS, showing that the preset choice has a massive impact on playability at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 109.6 FPS, Medium 81.4 FPS, High 66.6 FPS, and Ultra 54.7 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at High settings is 30.9 FPS (97.5 to 66.6), which is a 31.7% reduction. At Low settings, the 1440p number is 109.6 FPS, still comfortably above 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, the results are more challenging. Low averages 72.6 FPS, Medium 51.3 FPS, High 46.5 FPS, and Ultra 32.6 FPS. The 4K Low result is the only 4K preset that stays above 60 FPS, and even that is marginal. The data clearly shows that 4K is only viable at Low settings, while 1440p is playable at Medium and High, and 1080p can handle Ultra.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture (Battlemage generation) using TSMC's 5 nm process, with 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die. It features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base and boost clocks are both 2670 MHz, and its FP32 performance is 13.67 TFLOPS. The measured FPS data shows that the Arc B580 is the decisive bottleneck in this combo. At 1080p Ultra, the GPU produces 72.7 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 32.6 FPS — a 55.2% loss that correlates directly with the 4x pixel count increase, suggesting the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are exhausted.

The GPU's average benchmark score is 23021, placing it at the 66th percentile. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 760M (deltaPct 0.1) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (deltaPct -0.7), meaning the Arc B580 is within 1% of those cards in average performance. This is a competitive mid-range position, but it is not enough to drive high-refresh 4K or maxed-out 1440p in this game. The 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for Lockdown Protocol's textures at all tested settings, but the 192-bit bus and 456.0 GB/s bandwidth are the limiting factors at higher resolutions. The data suggests that the GPU is well-matched for 1080p and entry-level 1440p gaming, but it lacks the headroom for 4K Ultra.

FAQ

Q: What is the best 1080p preset for this combo?

A: At 1920x1080, High settings deliver 97.5 FPS, while Medium hits 111.2 FPS and Ultra drops to 72.7 FPS. High offers a good balance, but Medium provides the highest frame rate above 100 FPS.

Q: Can this combo handle 1440p gaming?

A: Yes, at 2560x1440, Low averages 109.6 FPS, Medium 81.4 FPS, and High 66.6 FPS. Ultra drops to 54.7 FPS, which is below 60 FPS but still playable for some users.

Q: Is 4K viable with the Intel Arc B580?

A: Only at Low settings, where the combo averages 72.6 FPS at 3840x2160. Medium (51.3 FPS), High (46.5 FPS), and Ultra (32.6 FPS) all fall below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the i5-14400F compare to its nearest rivals in compute?

A: The i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32508, which is essentially identical to the Intel Core i7-12800H (32513, deltaPct 0) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (32446, deltaPct 0.2).

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

A: The Intel Arc B580 sits at the 66th percentile, with an average benchmark score of 23021. Its closest competitor, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, scores 23181 (deltaPct -0.7).

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No. The 10-core, 16-thread i5-14400F can push 153.1 FPS at 1080p Low, while 4K Ultra only reaches 32.6 FPS. The data indicates the GPU is the limiting component at all resolutions above 1080p Low.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1920x1080, Medium settings (111.2 FPS) offer the best mix of visual quality and performance, as the jump to High (97.5 FPS) costs 13.7 FPS for marginal visual gains. Ultra at 1080p (72.7 FPS) is playable but not recommended for competitive play, as the frame rate drops below the 100 FPS threshold that many FPS players prefer. For 2560x1440, High settings (66.6 FPS) are the sweet spot, providing a solid 60+ FPS experience without the visual degradation of Medium (81.4 FPS) or the performance hit of Ultra (54.7 FPS). At 3840x2160, only Low (72.6 FPS) is recommended, as all other presets fall below 60 FPS; Medium (51.3 FPS) and High (46.5 FPS) are playable for slower-paced content but will feel less responsive in fast action. The data strongly suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for Low settings or e-sports titles where frame rate matters more than fidelity.