Lockdown Protocol

Measured FPS Breakdown

Lockdown Protocol presents a demanding workload for this Core i5-9400 and GTX 1070 pairing, with performance scaling predictably across resolutions and presets. The recorded data shows a clear hierarchy where lower resolutions and reduced settings yield substantially higher average frame rates.

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce an average of 127.9 FPS, which is more than double the 60 FPS playability threshold. Medium settings remain comfortable at 95.4 FPS, and High settings still clear the bar with 81.1 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 63.6 FPS, which is just above the playable line but noticeably lower than the High preset. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 64.3 FPS, demonstrating that the preset choice heavily influences the experience.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates take a significant step down. Low settings average 98.3 FPS, which is still a strong result. Medium settings fall to 66.5 FPS, barely clearing the 60 FPS threshold. High settings drop to 57.7 FPS, which misses the playable mark. Ultra settings are the weakest at 42.4 FPS, making them unsuitable for smooth gameplay. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 55.9 FPS, showing that the resolution increase amplifies the cost of higher presets.

At 3840x2160, only the Low preset remains viable. Low settings average 64.8 FPS, just above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings fall to 44.7 FPS, High settings drop to 36.4 FPS, and Ultra is nearly unplayable at 31.6 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 33.2 FPS, which is smaller in absolute terms than at lower resolutions but represents a far larger relative penalty, as even Medium fails to hit the playable mark.

The data indicates that this hardware combination handles Lockdown Protocol best at 1080p, where all four presets reach or exceed 60 FPS. At 1440p, the playable range narrows to Low and Medium. At 4K, only Low is playable. Min and max FPS values were not recorded in the database, so all analysis relies on average frame rates.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The database shows an average of 63.6 FPS at 1080p Ultra, which clears the 60 FPS playability threshold. It is the only resolution where the Ultra preset is playable.

Q: What is the best preset for 2560x1440?

A: Medium settings are the most demanding preset that stays playable at 1440p, with an average of 66.5 FPS. High settings fall to 57.7 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is 3840x2160 playable at all with this hardware?

A: Only with Low settings. The measured average at 4K Low is 64.8 FPS. Medium settings drop to 44.7 FPS, which is not playable.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p on High settings?

A: The average frame rate drops from 81.1 FPS at 1080p High to 57.7 FPS at 1440p High, a loss of 23.4 FPS. This pushes the experience below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Does the Ultra preset at 1080p leave much headroom above the playable threshold?

A: No, the margin is thin. The average of 63.6 FPS is only 3.6 FPS above the 60 FPS playable line, so any demanding scene could push it below playable levels.

Q: Which resolution offers the most playable presets?

A: 1920x1080 is the most flexible, with all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) clearing 60 FPS. 2560x1440 supports two presets (Low and Medium), and 3840x2160 supports only one (Low).

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database places the Intel Core i5-9400 at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2254. Its closest rivals in the CPU benchmarks are the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (score 2259, a 0.2% difference), the Intel Core i3-10305 (score 2264, a 0.4% difference), the Intel Core i7-10710U (score 2248, a 0.3% difference), and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (score 2246, a 0.4% difference). These processors all sit within a narrow performance band, meaning a system with any of them would likely deliver very similar CPU-bound results in Lockdown Protocol. The differences are small enough that the choice between them would be unlikely to change the playable settings at any given resolution.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 sits at the 47th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 9780. Its nearest rivals are the AMD FirePro W5000 (score 9803, a 0.2% difference), the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M (score 9832, a 0.5% difference), the NVIDIA Tesla M10 (score 9724, a 0.6% difference), and the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 (score 9716, a 0.7% difference). These GPUs are not gaming-class parts in most cases, which makes them less relevant as direct alternatives, but the benchmark data indicates they occupy a similar performance tier. A system swapping in any of these GPUs would be expected to produce frame rates close to those recorded for the GTX 1070, though driver and architecture differences could alter real-world behavior.

The combination of a 47th percentile CPU and a 47th percentile GPU places this system in the middle of the hardware spectrum. Users looking for similar gameplay results could consider any of the listed CPU or GPU alternatives, but the benchmark deltas are all under 1%, so the practical differences in Lockdown Protocol would be minimal.

How This Combo Ranks

The database ranks this specific CPU and GPU combination at 3063 out of 3714 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. That places it in the lower portion of the rankings, around the 17th percentile of tested combinations. This is a notable finding given that both components individually sit at the 47th percentile of their respective categories. The gap suggests that Lockdown Protocol is demanding enough that this mid-range pairing is outperformed by a substantial majority of the tested systems.

The rank of 3063 means that roughly 651 tested combos performed worse, while about 3062 performed better. This is not a flattering position, but the measured frame rates show that the combo is still capable of delivering playable experiences at the right settings. The ranking reflects the overall performance ceiling of the hardware, not just whether it can run the game at minimum acceptable frame rates.

The data implies that Lockdown Protocol favors systems with stronger components, and this pairing will need to rely on preset and resolution adjustments to stay playable. At 1080p, the rank is somewhat misleading because the combo handles all presets well. At 4K, the rank is more representative, as only the lowest preset is playable.

The Verdict

The recorded verdict data is clear about what this system can do. At 3840x2160, the only playable setting is Low, with an average of 64.8 FPS. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall below the 60 FPS threshold, with averages of 44.7, 36.4, and 31.6 FPS respectively. At 2560x1440, Low and Medium are playable, with averages of 98.3 and 66.5 FPS. High and Ultra are not playable, at 57.7 and 42.4 FPS. At 1920x1080, all four presets clear 60 FPS, with Low at 127.9 FPS, Medium at 95.4 FPS, High at 81.1 FPS, and Ultra at 63.6 FPS.

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but the experience depends heavily on resolution and settings. The safest choice for a consistently smooth experience is 1080p, where even Ultra stays above the playable threshold. At 1440p, users must settle for Medium or lower. At 4K, only Low is viable, and even then the margin above 60 FPS is slim. The system is not a high-end performer in this game, but it is sufficient for playable frame rates across a range of configurations.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, with an average of 64.8 FPS. This is the only playable option at 4K, and the headroom is modest at 4.8 FPS above the threshold.

At 2560x1440, the best playable preset is Medium, with an average of 66.5 FPS. Low settings offer a higher average of 98.3 FPS, but Medium provides the best visual quality while still clearing the 60 FPS line.

At 1920x1080, the best playable preset is Ultra, with an average of 63.6 FPS. All lower presets also clear the threshold, with High at 81.1 FPS, Medium at 95.4 FPS, and Low at 127.9 FPS, but Ultra offers the maximum visual fidelity while remaining playable.

These settings represent the optimal balance between image quality and frame rate for each resolution, based on the measured data.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals how the CPU and GPU each contribute to performance in Lockdown Protocol. The largest frame rate differences come from preset changes at a fixed resolution, which points to the GPU handling most of the graphics workload. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra costs 64.3 FPS, while at 1440p the same preset change costs 55.9 FPS, and at 4K it costs 33.2 FPS. This pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario where higher settings increase the load on the graphics card.

The resolution scaling also shows the GPU's influence. At Low settings, dropping from 1080p to 1440p reduces the average from 127.9 FPS to 98.3 FPS, a loss of 29.6 FPS. Dropping further to 4K reduces it to 64.8 FPS, another 33.5 FPS loss. The fact that Low settings still scale so heavily with resolution indicates that the GTX 1070 is the limiting factor even at the lowest preset. A CPU bottleneck would flatten the frame rates across resolutions, but the data shows steady declines as resolution increases.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and settings, where frame rates are high enough that the processor could become the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the average of 127.9 FPS is high enough that the Core i5-9400's six cores and six threads might struggle to keep up in certain scenes. However, the database does not provide per-frame data, so this cannot be confirmed. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the dominant constraint, as even Low settings produce only 64.8 FPS, a figure that a six-core CPU would not normally limit.

The preset scaling at 4K is particularly telling. High and Ultra settings produce 36.4 and 31.6 FPS respectively, while Low reaches 64.8 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium alone costs 20.1 FPS, showing that the GTX 1070's 8 GB of memory and 256-bit bus are heavily taxed by the higher settings. At 1440p and 1080p, the same preset steps produce smaller absolute losses, which suggests the GPU has more headroom at those resolutions.

Overall, the data indicates that the GPU is the primary determinant of performance in Lockdown Protocol, especially at 1440p and 4K. The CPU is sufficient to feed the GPU at most settings, though at 1080p Low the high frame rates may approach the processor's limits. Users seeking higher frame rates at 4K would need a stronger GPU, while those playing at 1080p on lower presets would see little benefit from a CPU upgrade.