Lockdown Protocol

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the Intel Core i5-9400 with the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT produces an average of 49 FPS on High settings. Dropping to Low raises the average to 78 FPS, while Medium lands at 56 FPS with a minimum of 47 FPS and a maximum of 64 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding at this resolution, delivering only 36 FPS on average.

Moving to 2560x1440, the combination achieves 75 FPS on High, 121 FPS on Low, and 86 FPS on Medium with a recorded range of 73 to 99 FPS. The Ultra preset manages 56 FPS on average. At 1920x1080, the results improve substantially: High yields 103 FPS, Low reaches 163 FPS, Medium produces 117 FPS with a minimum of 100 FPS and a maximum of 135 FPS, and Ultra still holds at 77 FPS.

The data shows a clear pattern across all resolutions: the gap between Low and Ultra becomes wider as resolution decreases. At 4K, the difference between Low (78 FPS) and Ultra (36 FPS) is 42 FPS. At 1440p, that spread is 65 FPS (121 versus 56). At 1080p, the spread grows to 86 FPS (163 versus 77). This indicates that the GPU handles lower resolutions with much more headroom, while at 4K the rendering load compresses the performance envelope.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions reveals that the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is the primary performance driver for Lockdown Protocol. When moving from 1080p High (103 FPS) to 1440p High (75 FPS), the average drops by 28 FPS, a 27% reduction. From 1440p High to 4K High (49 FPS), the drop is 26 FPS, or 35%. This steep decline with rising pixel count is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and lower presets. At 1080p Low, the system hits 163 FPS, which is far above the 60 FPS playability threshold. The Intel Core i5-9400, with its 6 cores and 6 threads, does not appear to bottleneck the RX 6650 XT at this resolution. However, the percentile rank of 47 for the CPU against all processors suggests it sits near the middle of the performance distribution, and the recorded 1080p Low result indicates the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output there.

At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The Ultra preset at 36 FPS versus the Low preset at 78 FPS shows that graphics settings have a massive impact on frame rate, while resolution changes alone (from 1080p to 4K at the same preset) also produce large swings. The measured data does not include separate CPU or GPU utilization metrics, but the combination of strong 1080p numbers and weak 4K numbers points to a system where the RX 6650 XT dictates the ceiling at higher resolutions, while the i5-9400 remains sufficient for the lower resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 with an average score of 2259, which is 0.2% higher, and the Intel Core i7-10710U at 2248, which is 0.3% lower. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, a 0.4% deficit, while the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, a 0.4% advantage. These four processors would behave nearly identically in Lockdown Protocol, as their performance deltas are all within a single percentage point of the i5-9400. A user swapping from the i5-9400 to any of these chips would see no meaningful change in frame rates.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT has an average benchmark score of 19765. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Tesla K40m at 19885 (0.6% higher), the AMD FirePro D300 at 19637 (0.7% lower), the AMD FirePro W7000 at 19905 (0.7% higher), and the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 at 19602 (0.8% lower). These deltas are all under 1%, meaning the RX 6650 XT's performance in this game would be essentially matched by any of these GPUs. The measured FPS values for the RX 6650 XT can therefore be treated as representative for this cluster of graphics cards, though the professional-oriented nature of some rivals (Tesla, FirePro, Quadro) may involve different driver optimizations.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of 3714 tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT ranks 2471st. That places it in the lower third of all tested combos, which is consistent with the CPU's 47th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 65th percentile among all GPUs. The rank of 2471 means that roughly two-thirds of the tested systems deliver higher frame rates in this game.

This ranking is not surprising given that both components are from older generations. The i5-9400 was released in 2018, and the RX 6650 XT launched in 2022. The game itself was released in March 2024, so the hardware predates the game by several years. The combo rank suggests that while the GPU is above average, the CPU drags the overall position down relative to more modern processors. The i5-9400's 6 threads and lack of hyper-threading likely limit performance in scenarios where the game's engine can utilize more threads.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080, all four settings presets exceed the 60 FPS threshold. The lowest result is Ultra at 77 FPS, and Low reaches 163 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p?

A: The best playable preset at 2560x1440 is High, which delivers 75 FPS on average. Ultra falls below 60 FPS at 56 FPS, so it is not recommended.

Q: Is 4K playable with this setup?

A: Only on Low settings, which produces 78 FPS. Medium drops to 56 FPS, High to 49 FPS, and Ultra to 36 FPS, all below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average score of 2254. The nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, scores 2259, a 0.2% difference. All four closest rivals are within 0.8% of the i5-9400's score.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 19765.

Q: Which resolutions are fully playable?

A: 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 are playable on multiple presets. At 1080p, High, Low, Medium, and Ultra all clear 60 FPS. At 1440p, High, Low, and Medium clear 60 FPS. At 4K, only Low clears 60 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the only preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, with an average of 78 FPS. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall below the threshold, so Low is the recommended setting for 4K.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that remains playable is High, averaging 75 FPS. Ultra fails at 56 FPS, while Medium and Low also pass but with lower visual quality. High offers the best balance.

At 1920x1080, Ultra is the best choice, delivering 77 FPS on average. This is the highest preset available and still well above the 60 FPS line. Lower presets yield even higher frame rates (High at 103, Medium at 117, Low at 163), but Ultra provides the maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing playability.

The Verdict

This system can run Lockdown Protocol, but the experience depends heavily on resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, every preset is playable, making this the ideal resolution for this hardware. At 2560x1440, High settings deliver 75 FPS, which is comfortable, but Ultra should be avoided. At 3840x2160, only Low settings clear the 60 FPS threshold with 78 FPS; all other presets fall short. The verdict by resolution is clear: 1080p is fully supported, 1440p is playable with lowered expectations, and 4K is only viable on the lowest settings. The GPU's 65th percentile ranking and the CPU's 47th percentile ranking combine to produce a system that is adequate for esports-style play at mainstream resolutions but struggles at the highest visual demands.