Lockdown Protocol

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Lockdown Protocol with the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER reveals a clear scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo delivers 155.2 FPS, while dropping to High settings at the same resolution yields 204.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the Ultra preset falls to 113.6 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, the average settles at 74.7 FPS. This progression shows that the performance penalty from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is roughly a 52% reduction in frame rate, indicating that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly telling. At High settings, the drop from 152.4 FPS at 1440p to 96.1 FPS at 4K represents a 37% decrease, which is consistent with the increased pixel workload. At Low settings, the transition from 241.9 FPS at 1440p to 155.2 FPS at 4K shows a 36% reduction. This consistency across settings suggests that the RTX 4080 SUPER's compute resources are being taxed uniformly as resolution climbs, with no sudden bottleneck appearing.

At 1080p, the data indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU adequately even at Low settings, where the combo reaches 290.7 FPS. The gap between 1080p Low and 1440p Low is 48.8 FPS, which is smaller than the gap between 1440p Low and 4K Low at 86.7 FPS. This non-linear scaling pattern points to the GPU becoming progressively more dominant in determining performance as resolution increases, while at 1080p the frame rates are high enough that other system components may start to influence the ceiling.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2550 MHz, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with 10240 shading units. These specifications directly correlate with the measured performance in Lockdown Protocol, where the card demonstrates its capability to handle even the most demanding settings.

At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 74.7 FPS, which is playable but shows the GPU working near its limits for this title. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game's demands at this resolution, as there is no indication of memory-related stuttering in the measured data. The memory bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s supports the high texture throughput required at 4K, and the consistent frame rates across all settings suggest that VRAM allocation is not a bottleneck.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its positioning. With a Passmark G3D score of 34245 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6600, the RTX 4080 SUPER sits in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 53610 places it close to the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, which scores 53489 with a delta of 0.2%, and ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti at 52086 with a delta of 2.9%. These comparisons show that the GPU is competitive with the top tier of graphics cards, which aligns with the strong FPS figures observed in Lockdown Protocol.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 290.7 at 1080p with Low settings. This represents the ceiling for this combination in Lockdown Protocol.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo delivers an average of 74.7 FPS. This is the lowest measured frame rate across all tested configurations.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 SUPER bottlenecked by the i5-14400F at 1080p?

A: The data shows 290.7 FPS at 1080p Low, which is exceptionally high. The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads, with a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, are sufficient to keep the GPU fed at this resolution, though the diminishing returns between 1080p and 1440p Low suggest the CPU is nearing its limit.

Q: What is the performance difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings produce 152.4 FPS while Ultra produces 113.6 FPS. This represents a 38.8 FPS difference, indicating that Ultra settings impose a significant additional load.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 110th out of 1637 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 7% of all tested systems.

Q: What is the FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 235.1 FPS, while at 4K Medium it drops to 114.6 FPS. This is a reduction of 120.5 FPS, or approximately 51%.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates its strongest performance. Low settings yield 290.7 FPS, Medium settings produce 235.1 FPS, High settings deliver 204.3 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 155.2 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a consistent decline, with Ultra being 46.6% slower than Low.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the increased resolution's impact. Low settings produce 241.9 FPS, Medium settings deliver 174.7 FPS, High settings reach 152.4 FPS, and Ultra settings settle at 113.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 128.3 FPS, which is larger in absolute terms than the 135.5 FPS gap at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant factor. Low settings achieve 155.2 FPS, Medium settings deliver 114.6 FPS, High settings reach 96.1 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 74.7 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 80.5 FPS, and the scaling from Medium to High shows a 18.5 FPS drop, while High to Ultra shows a 21.4 FPS drop, indicating that each setting tier has a meaningful impact on performance at this resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory provide a solid foundation for gaming workloads. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21914 and single-core score of 3093 demonstrate strong processing capability, and its 88th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms its position as a capable gaming processor.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's influence is most apparent at lower resolutions where frame rates are exceptionally high. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 290.7 FPS, which approaches the practical limits of the CPU's ability to issue draw calls and process game logic. The fact that 1080p Medium achieves 235.1 FPS and 1080p High reaches 204.3 FPS shows that even at these high frame rates, the CPU maintains sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a severe bottleneck.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-12800H with an average score of 32513 and a delta of 0%, the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 at 32446 with a 0.2% delta, and the AMD Ryzen 7 250 at 32584 with a -0.2% delta. These close margins indicate that the i5-14400F performs competitively with other mid-range and some higher-tier processors, which is consistent with its ability to support the RTX 4080 SUPER in Lockdown Protocol without significantly limiting the GPU's output.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data supports Ultra settings as the best choice for this combo at 1080p, where the average of 155.2 FPS exceeds the refresh rate of most high-refresh monitors. At 1440p, High settings provide the optimal balance, delivering 152.4 FPS compared to Ultra's 113.6 FPS; the 38.8 FPS difference makes High the more sensible choice for competitive play, while Ultra remains viable for those prioritizing visual fidelity.

At 4K, the situation changes dramatically. High settings produce 96.1 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while Ultra drops to 74.7 FPS. The data suggests that High settings at 4K offer the best experience, as the difference between Medium at 114.6 FPS and High at 96.1 FPS is a modest 18.5 FPS, while High to Ultra costs 21.4 FPS for diminishing visual returns. For players targeting 144 Hz displays at 4K, even Low settings at 155.2 FPS may be preferable, but for most users, High provides the strongest combination of frame rate and image quality.

Across all resolutions, Low settings consistently deliver the highest frame rates, with 290.7 FPS at 1080p, 241.9 FPS at 1440p, and 155.2 FPS at 4K. However, the visual compromise is significant, and the data indicates that Medium settings represent a more reasonable baseline for players who prioritize frame rate over graphical detail.

How This Combo Ranks

In Lockdown Protocol, the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination ranks 110th out of 1637 tested combos, placing it in the top 6.7% of all configurations. This high ranking reflects the synergy between the CPU's strong single-threaded performance and the GPU's exceptional rasterization capabilities.

The ranking is particularly impressive given that the CPU is a mid-range part, while the GPU is a high-end offering. The data shows that the combo excels in scenarios where the GPU is the limiting factor, such as at 4K, where the RTX 4080 SUPER's 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 816.0 GTexel/s texture rate drive strong performance. The CPU's 88th percentile ranking and the GPU's 88th percentile ranking combine to produce a system that outperforms the vast majority of tested configurations.

The top 7% placement indicates that this combo is well-suited for Lockdown Protocol, delivering high frame rates across all resolution and settings combinations. The measured FPS data confirms that the system can handle competitive play at 1440p with High settings, achieving 152.4 FPS, and can provide a solid 4K experience at High settings with 96.1 FPS. For players seeking a high-performance system for this game, the data positions this combo as a strong choice that balances CPU and GPU capabilities effectively.