Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i5-14400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

The data for this combination reveals a fascinating dynamic: an upper-midrange CPU paired with a flagship-tier GPU, producing frame rates that are consistently high but show clear signs of where the bottleneck shifts as resolution and settings change. The measured results across 12 distinct configurations indicate that this pairing is capable of delivering competitive play at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K performance remains strong though increasingly GPU-bound. The Intel Core i5-14400F, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, provides enough processing headroom to feed the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D at lower resolutions, but the scaling curves suggest that the CPU's influence becomes more pronounced as settings drop to Low at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about where the limiting component sits in this system. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 245 at 1920x1080 to 183 at 2560x1440, then to 118 at 3840x2160. That represents a 25% reduction going from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 36% reduction going from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, which suggests that the GPU begins to dominate the workload as pixel count increases, while the CPU maintains a relatively stable output.

At Low settings, the pattern shifts noticeably. The 1080p result of 291 FPS drops to 263 at 1440p (a 10% reduction) and then to 190 at 4K (a 28% reduction from 1440p). The smaller drop between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings compared to High settings indicates that the CPU is becoming a more significant constraint at lower resolutions, where the GPU has less work to do per frame. The fact that 1080p Low yields 291 FPS while 4K High yields 118 FPS highlights the wide performance envelope of this combination.

The Medium settings data provides additional insight, with average FPS of 256 at 1080p, 209 at 1440p, and 135 at 4K. The 4K Medium result of 135 FPS is actually higher than the 4K High result of 118 FPS, which is expected given the reduced graphical load. However, the gap between 1080p Medium (256 FPS) and 4K Medium (135 FPS) is a 47% reduction, showing that even at medium quality, the resolution scaling remains steep when moving to 4K. This pattern suggests that the RTX 5090 D is the primary driver of performance differences across resolutions, but the CPU's 10-core, 16-thread configuration still imposes a ceiling at the lowest settings where frame rates approach 300 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 46th out of 2,828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. That places it in the top 2% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing given that the GPU is clearly the dominant component in this pairing. The rank reflects the measured FPS data across all resolutions and settings, and the position indicates that this combo outperforms the vast majority of alternatives, even though the CPU is not a top-tier part by synthetic benchmarks.

The CPU's percentile rank of 83 against all processors places it in the upper range of desktop chips, but its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% higher), Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% higher), AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (0.2% lower), and Intel Core i7-12800H (0.5% higher). These deltas are all within half a percent, meaning the i5-14400F is essentially performance-equivalent to those parts in general compute workloads. The GPU, however, sits at the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (1.1% higher), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (1.6% lower), and NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants (2.1% and 2.4% lower).

The combo rank of 46 out of 2,828 suggests that the pairing of this specific CPU and GPU is well-balanced for Lockdown Protocol, as the game appears to benefit from the GPU's immense compute capabilities while still being able to leverage the CPU's 16 threads. The rank would likely be higher if the CPU were a more powerful model, but the data shows that the i5-14400F does not hold back the RTX 5090 D to a significant degree in most measured scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the star of this configuration, and its specifications explain why the measured frame rates are so high across all resolutions. The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This massive memory capacity and bandwidth are particularly relevant for Lockdown Protocol, which appears to be a title that can utilize high-resolution textures and effects without hitting VRAM limits. The 32 GB allocation ensures that even at 4K Ultra settings, memory capacity is unlikely to be a constraint.

The clock speeds of the RTX 5090 D are notable, with a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz, which translates to 28 Gbps effective. These clocks, combined with 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output units, produce a peak FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS. In practical terms, this means the GPU can process Lockdown Protocol's geometry and shading workloads with substantial headroom, as evidenced by the 291 FPS result at 1080p Low.

The pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s are directly relevant to how the GPU handles resolution scaling. At 4K, the pixel throughput requirement is four times that of 1080p, and the measured FPS drop from 291 to 190 at Low settings shows that the GPU's pixel processing capabilities are being exercised more heavily. The RTX 5090 D's 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores also contribute to its overall score in synthetic benchmarks like 3DMark Steel Nomad (14,326) and Geekbench Vulkan (376,915), though Lockdown Protocol's specific ray tracing workload is not detailed in the measured data.

The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77,712, confirms that this is a top-tier part by compute standards. The nearest rival comparisons show that the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT scores 1.1% higher, while the RX 6850M XT scores 1.6% lower, indicating that the RTX 5090 D sits in a competitive cluster despite its flagship positioning.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 291 at Low settings to 187 at Ultra settings, with Medium at 256 FPS and High at 245 FPS. The Medium setting is the only one with min and max FPS recorded, showing a range of 218 to 295 FPS. This 77 FPS spread indicates some variability, but the average of 256 FPS suggests that the game remains highly playable even with frame time fluctuations.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings yield 263 FPS, High settings produce 183 FPS, Medium settings average 209 FPS with a min of 178 and max of 241 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 137 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 126 FPS, which is a 48% reduction. This is roughly proportional to the 1080p gap of 104 FPS (291 to 187), indicating that the GPU's workload scaling is consistent across these two resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the 4K results show the most significant performance impact. Low settings average 190 FPS, Medium settings average 135 FPS with a min of 115 and max of 155 FPS, High settings produce 118 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 88 FPS. The Ultra result of 88 FPS is the lowest measured in the entire dataset, but it remains above the 60 FPS threshold that is typically considered the minimum for smooth gameplay. The 4K Low result of 190 FPS is particularly impressive, showing that the RTX 5090 D can handle even the most demanding resolution without requiring settings reductions to maintain high frame rates.

The Medium settings at each resolution provide the most complete data with min and max FPS values. At 1080p, the range is 218-295 FPS; at 1440p, it's 178-241 FPS; and at 4K, it's 115-155 FPS. These ranges show that the variability increases slightly at lower resolutions, likely due to CPU-related frame time spikes, while the 4K range is tighter relative to its average.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combination depend on the user's display refresh rate and performance priorities. At 1080p, all settings levels produce average FPS above 187, which means even Ultra settings are viable for 144Hz displays. However, the Medium setting at 256 FPS offers a substantial headroom that could be beneficial for 240Hz or 300Hz displays, and the min FPS of 218 ensures that frame drops remain above typical high-refresh thresholds.

At 1440p, the recommendation becomes more nuanced. High settings at 183 FPS and Medium settings at 209 FPS both provide excellent experiences for 144Hz and 165Hz displays. The Ultra setting at 137 FPS is still playable, but it may not fully saturate a 144Hz panel in all scenarios. The data suggests that High settings strike the best balance between visual quality and performance at 1440p, as the 183 FPS average leaves room for frame time spikes without dropping below 144 FPS consistently.

At 4K, the settings recommendations shift toward lower presets to maintain high frame rates. The Low setting at 190 FPS is the standout option, offering performance that exceeds what most 4K displays can show (typically 60Hz to 144Hz). Medium settings at 135 FPS are also excellent, with the min FPS of 115 ensuring that even demanding scenes remain fluid. High settings at 118 FPS are playable but begin to approach the edge of what some 120Hz displays require, while Ultra at 88 FPS is best reserved for users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate. For competitive play at 4K, the Low preset appears to be the recommended choice based on the data, as it provides the highest average FPS while still benefiting from the GPU's powerful rendering capabilities.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F serves as the supporting component in this combination, and its specifications provide context for the measured results. With 10 cores and 16 threads, the CPU offers a balance of multi-threaded capacity and single-thread performance. The base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz, combined with 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, allow it to handle game logic and physics calculations without becoming a primary bottleneck in most scenarios.

The CPU's benchmark results show a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21,645 and single-core score of 3,055, along with a Geekbench multi-core score of 11,268 and single-core score of 2,058. These scores place the i5-14400F at the 83rd percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32,279. The nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and Intel Core i9-11900, are within 0.2% of this score, indicating that the CPU is competitive with parts from previous generations and other market segments.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role becomes evident when examining the frame rate differences between 1080p Low and 4K Low. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 291, which is closer to the CPU's theoretical limit than the GPU's. The fact that 1080p Low does not exceed 300 FPS suggests that the i5-14400F's 16 threads are being utilized to their capacity in this scenario. The drop to 263 FPS at 1440p Low and 190 FPS at 4K Low indicates that the GPU begins to take over as the limiting factor at higher resolutions, but the CPU's contribution remains consistent.

The CPU's TDP of 65W and 10 nm process node mean it operates efficiently within the system, and its support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory provides flexibility for platform configuration. The CPU's launch MSRP of $196 positions it as a mainstream part, and its 4.70 GHz boost clock ensures that single-threaded performance is adequate for the game's primary thread workload. The data suggests that while the i5-14400F does not match the GPU's performance class, it provides sufficient processing power to keep frame rates high at all but the most CPU-intensive settings combinations.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve 144 FPS or higher?

A: At 1080p, all four settings presets produce average FPS above 187, so 144 FPS is achievable at any quality level. At 1440p, Low (263 FPS), Medium (209 FPS), and High (183 FPS) all exceed 144 FPS, while Ultra drops to 137 FPS. At 4K, only Low (190 FPS) and Medium (135 FPS) come close to or exceed 144 FPS, with High at 118 FPS and Ultra at 88 FPS falling short.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D's memory configuration affect 4K performance?

A: The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth. This configuration ensures that memory capacity is not a limiting factor at 4K, as evidenced by the 190 FPS average at 4K Low settings. The high bandwidth supports the pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s, which is necessary for the 4K resolution's four-times-higher pixel count compared to 1080p.

Q: Is the Core i5-14400F a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 D in this game?

A: The data indicates that the CPU becomes a limiting factor primarily at 1080p Low settings, where the average FPS of 291 is below what the GPU could theoretically produce. At higher resolutions and settings, the GPU's workload dominates, and the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads are sufficient to maintain frame rates above 100 FPS at all measured configurations.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings average 209 FPS with a min of 178 FPS and max of 241 FPS, while Ultra settings average 137 FPS. The difference is 72 FPS, representing a 34% reduction in average frame rate when moving from Medium to Ultra. The Medium setting also has recorded min/max values, while the Ultra setting does not, suggesting less performance variability at the lower preset.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: This combination ranks 46th out of 2,828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 2% of all configurations. The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking against all GPUs and the CPU's 83rd percentile ranking against all CPUs contribute to this strong overall position, indicating that the pairing is well-suited for this game.

Q: What are the key specifications of the CPU and GPU in this combo?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F has 10 cores, 16 threads, a base clock of 2.50 GHz, a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D has 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, a base clock of 2017 MHz, a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and 21,760 shading units. The GPU's memory bandwidth is 1.79 TB/s, and it delivers 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.