Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is an overwhelmingly capable combination for Lockdown Protocol, delivering playable frame rates at every preset across all three tested resolutions. The data shows this pairing never dips below the 60 FPS playable threshold, even under the most demanding Ultra settings at 4K. This makes the combination a top-tier performer for this FPS title, though the blend of a mid-range 13th Gen CPU with a flagship Blackwell GPU creates an interesting dynamic where the GPU is clearly the dominant force.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 (4K), the RTX 5090 D demonstrates its raw power, though the frame rates scale dramatically with the preset. The most demanding Ultra setting yields an average of 88 FPS. Dropping to High raises the average to 118 FPS, while the Medium preset produces 135 FPS with a documented minimum of 115 FPS and a maximum of 155 FPS. The Low preset delivers a substantial leap to 190 FPS average, highlighting how much headroom exists at lower fidelity settings.

Moving to 2560x1440 (1440p), the performance uplift becomes more pronounced. The Ultra preset averages 137 FPS, which is a massive 55.7% improvement over the 4K Ultra result. High settings average 183 FPS, while Medium hits 209 FPS, with a minimum of 178 FPS and a maximum of 241 FPS. The Low preset reaches an average of 258 FPS, demonstrating that this combination has significant capacity for high-refresh-rate displays even at this resolution.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the frame rates approach the limits of typical display refresh rates. The Ultra preset averages 187 FPS, and High settings push to 240 FPS. Medium averages 251 FPS, with the only recorded min/max data being 214 FPS minimum and 289 FPS maximum. The Low preset completes the picture with an average of 286 FPS. Even at the most demanding Ultra setting, the system is never bottlenecked by the CPU, as the 187 FPS figure is far above the playable threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions clearly indicates that the GPU is the dominant component in this pairing. The RTX 5090 D is heavily taxed at 4K, while the CPU remains largely underutilized. The transition from 1080p Ultra (187 FPS) to 4K Ultra (88 FPS) shows a 52.9% drop in performance, which is a classic indicator of GPU-bound workload as pixel count rises.

However, the CPU is not entirely irrelevant. The margin between resolution presets is smaller at lower settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 286 FPS, which is only 52.8% higher than the 187 FPS at 1080p Ultra. This shows that as the GPU load decreases, the system starts to approach the limits of what the CPU can feed, though it is still not fully constrained. The i5-13400F with its 10 cores and 16 threads is sufficient to keep the RTX 5090 D busy, even in CPU-heavy FPS scenarios.

The scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution is consistent: the gap between Low and Ultra is roughly 35-50% at every resolution. The i5-13400F’s single-threaded performance is robust enough to avoid holding back the GPU, but the data suggests that the CPU does become more relevant at 1080p Low. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is doing the heavy lifting, and the CPU is not in a position to bottleneck the frame output.

Best Settings per Resolution

The data shows that the system can play at Ultra settings with playable frame rates at all three resolutions, making it a straightforward recommendation for maximum visual fidelity.

• 1920x1080 (1080p): Ultra settings are the best choice, averaging 187 FPS. This is far above the 60 FPS threshold, so there is no reason to drop below the maximum visual preset.
• 2560x1440 (1440p): Ultra settings are also the best choice, averaging 137 FPS. This comfortable margin above 60 FPS makes the Ultra preset the clear winner for this resolution as well.
• 3840x2160 (4K): Ultra settings remain the best option, averaging 88 FPS. While this is the lowest of the three, it is still well above the 60 FPS playable threshold, ensuring a smooth experience even at the highest visual fidelity.

The data indicates that the system is not forced to compromise on visuals. At every resolution, the most demanding preset is the most reasonable one to use, as the average FPS stays comfortably above the playable threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 65th out of 3,714 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. This places the system in the top 1.8% of all tested hardware pairs, which is an exceptional result. The ranking suggests that while there are a few combinations that deliver higher frame rates, this pairing is already in the uppermost echelon of performance.

The ranking is likely influenced by the GPU’s ability to maintain high frame rates at 4K, which is a demanding scenario. Given that the data shows a core i5 CPU paired with a top-tier GPU, the ranking reflects a system that is not the absolute best in every scenario but is consistently at the high end of the spectrum. The 65th rank out of 3,714 combos indicates that only a select few more powerful CPU-GPU pairings can outperform it.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU, it is clear that the performance of this combination places it in a specific band. The CPU benchmark averages show that the i5-13400F is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (0% deltaPct) and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (0.4% faster). It is also very close to the Intel Core 5 120 and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D, both of which are only 0.3% faster. This means that swapping the i5-13400F for any of these alternatives would result in a negligible difference of less than half a percent in CPU performance.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5090 D’s average benchmark for games is very close to the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, which is only 1.1% slower. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is 1.6% faster, and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB and 16 GB versions are 2.1% and 2.4% faster, respectively. These deltaPct values are all under 2.5%, meaning that swapping the RTX 5090 D for any of these cards would result in nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, at least based on the average benchmark scores.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-13400F and RTX 5090 D combination always playable?

A: Yes, the data shows that all presets at all three resolutions (1080p, 1440p, and 4K) are above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The lowest average is 88 FPS at 4K Ultra.

Q: What is the best settings to use at 1440p?

A: The Ultra preset is the best choice at 2560x1440, as it achieves an average of 137 FPS, well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does this system compare to other tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 65th out of 3,714 tested pairs, placing it in the top 1.8% of all systems tested for Lockdown Protocol.

Q: Which component is more important for this game at 4K?

A: The GPU is the dominant component at 4K. The frame rate scales heavily with the GPU load, and the CPU does not appear to be a bottleneck.

Q: If I have an RTX 5090 D, would swapping the CPU to an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D make a big difference?

A: No. The benchmark data shows that the i5-13400F and the Ryzen 5 5600X3D have a deltaPct of only 0.3%, making the performance difference negligible.

Q: What is the max FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the maximum FPS was measured at 289, with an average of 251 and a minimum of 214.