Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination delivers a playable experience in Lockdown Protocol, but the ceiling varies sharply by resolution. At 1920x1080, this combo clears every preset with room to spare, including Ultra at 74 FPS average. At 2560x1440, it handles High settings at 72 FPS but falls short of Ultra. At 3840x2160, only Low settings stay above the 60 FPS threshold, with a 75 FPS average. The data shows a system that is fundamentally strong for 1080p and capable at 1440p, while 4K requires substantial compromises.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded FPS data for this combo spans three resolutions and four settings presets. The database includes average, minimum, and maximum FPS for Medium settings at each resolution, while other presets list only average FPS.

At 1920x1080, the results are consistently strong. Low settings produce an average of 159 FPS. Medium settings average 113 FPS, with a minimum of 96 and a maximum of 130. High settings average 99 FPS. Ultra settings average 74 FPS. The gap from Low to Ultra is 85 FPS, indicating that the preset scaling has a pronounced effect on performance at this resolution. Even the lowest recorded point, the Medium preset's 96 FPS minimum, stays well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, performance drops but remains respectable. Low settings average 117 FPS. Medium settings average 83 FPS, with a minimum of 70 and a maximum of 95. High settings average 72 FPS. Ultra settings average 54 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The step from High to Ultra costs 18 FPS, the largest single-preset drop in the 1440p range. The Medium minimum of 70 FPS shows that even dips stay playable, but the Ultra average of 54 FPS indicates that preset is not viable for consistent smoothness.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. Low settings average 75 FPS, the only 4K preset to clear 60 FPS. Medium settings average 53 FPS, with a minimum of 45 and a maximum of 62. High settings average 47 FPS. Ultra settings average 35 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 40 FPS, and the Ultra result is barely more than half the Low result. The Medium minimum of 45 FPS shows that frame pacing becomes a concern even at that preset, as dips can reach near-unplayable levels.

The scaling behavior across resolutions is consistent: each step from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 reduces average FPS at every preset. The most severe drop occurs at Ultra settings, going from 74 FPS at 1080p to 54 FPS at 1440p to 35 FPS at 4K. Low settings degrade more gracefully, from 159 to 117 to 75 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this CPU-GPU pairing ranks 2630 out of 3714 combos. That places it in the lower third of all tested systems, which is a meaningful context for interpreting the FPS numbers. The rank reflects the aggregate performance across all resolutions and presets, not just the best case.

The percentile data reinforces this positioning. The Intel Core i5-9400 sits at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, meaning it outperforms slightly less than half of the processors in the database. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER sits at the 62nd percentile among all GPUs, outperforming roughly three-fifths of graphics cards. The GPU is the stronger component in this pairing, which aligns with the measured FPS behavior: the system tends to hit GPU-bound limits at higher resolutions and presets.

The combo rank of 2630 out of 3714 suggests that while this system can run the game at acceptable levels, many other tested combinations deliver higher overall performance. The 1080p results are competitive, but the 4K results drag the ranking down substantially. A system ranked in the 29th percentile overall is not a top-tier performer, yet it remains functional for the game's primary use case.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the database identifies the most demanding preset that maintains an average FPS at or above 60.

At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra, with an average FPS of 74. This is the full visual preset, and the system still clears the playable threshold by 14 FPS. All four presets at this resolution are playable, so the recommendation is to run the game at maximum quality.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are High, with an average FPS of 72. Ultra falls to 54 FPS, which is below the threshold, so High is the highest preset that remains playable. The 18 FPS gap between High and Ultra at this resolution suggests that the Ultra preset's additional effects are too demanding for the RTX 2060 SUPER at 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the best settings are Low, with an average FPS of 75. Medium drops to 53 FPS, so Low is the only preset that clears 60 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium costs 22 FPS, a steep penalty for the modest visual upgrade. For 4K, the system requires the lowest preset to maintain smooth performance.

The pattern is clear: at each lower resolution, the system can afford one step higher in settings. At 1080p it runs Ultra, at 1440p it runs High, and at 4K it runs Low. This staircase behavior indicates a balanced but not overpowered GPU.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals in the database provide context for what other hardware would behave similarly to this combo. These are not exact matches, but the delta percentages show how close the performance envelopes are.

For the Intel Core i5-9400, the closest rivals are the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 with an average score of 2259 and a delta of -0.2%, the Intel Core i7-10710U with a score of 2248 and a delta of 0.3%, the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 with a score of 2246 and a delta of 0.4%, and the Intel Core i3-10305 with a score of 2264 and a delta of -0.4%. These deltas are all within a fraction of a percent, meaning any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Lockdown Protocol. The i5-9400's six cores and six threads are adequate for this game, and swapping to any of these rivals would not meaningfully change the FPS results.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile with an average score of 18159 and a delta of -0.4%, the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 with a score of 18189 and a delta of -0.5%, the AMD Radeon RX 460 with a score of 18373 and a delta of -1.5%, and the Intel Arc A770M with a score of 18383 and a delta of -1.6%. The RTX 3060 Mobile is essentially a peer, with a delta of -0.4%, so a laptop with that GPU would deliver similar frame rates. The Radeon Pro 5700 is also close. The RX 460 and Arc A770M are slightly ahead in aggregate benchmark score, but the small deltas suggest the in-game FPS differences would be minor.

The practical takeaway: a system with any of these rival CPUs or GPUs would produce FPS numbers within a few points of this combo across all resolutions and presets. The performance profile is not unique to the i5-9400 and RTX 2060 SUPER.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data reveals how the balance between CPU and GPU shifts across resolutions and presets. Lockdown Protocol is an FPS title, and the scaling patterns indicate where the bottleneck lies.

At 1920x1080, the system is primarily GPU-bound at higher presets but approaches CPU limitations at Low settings. The Low preset average of 159 FPS is high enough that the CPU's single-thread performance becomes relevant. The i5-9400 has a boost clock of 4.10 GHz and scores 935 in Cinebench R23 single-core, which is a moderate result. The GPU, with a 1650 MHz boost clock and 2176 shading units, is capable of pushing very high frame rates at Low 1080p, so the CPU's six threads may cap the absolute maximum. However, all presets stay well above 60 FPS, so this is not a practical concern.

At 2560x1440, the GPU takes on a more dominant role. The average FPS at Low is 117, which is a 26% drop from the 1080p Low result of 159. This drop is steeper than what pure CPU scaling would produce, indicating the GPU is now the limiting factor. The RTX 2060 SUPER's 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 7.181 TFLOPS FP32 throughput are sufficient for 1440p at Medium and High, but the Ultra preset's 54 FPS shows that the GPU cannot sustain the highest visual load at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is overwhelmingly the bottleneck. The Low preset average of 75 FPS is less than half the 1080p Low result. The Ultra preset at 35 FPS is less than a quarter of 1080p Ultra's 74 FPS. This dramatic scaling is typical of a GPU that lacks the raw pixel throughput for 4K. The CPU's role diminishes further, as the frame rates are low enough that even a much faster processor would not raise the FPS meaningfully.

The resolution scaling between presets also shows the GPU's influence. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 85 FPS. At 1440p, that difference is 63 FPS. At 4K, it is 40 FPS. As resolution increases, the preset gap narrows because the GPU is already saturated by the pixel count, leaving less headroom for settings changes to matter.

The CPU's benchmarks place it at the 47th percentile, while the GPU sits at the 62nd. This gap explains the observed behavior: at lower resolutions where FPS is high, the CPU's relative weakness may occasionally surface, but at higher resolutions the GPU's absolute limits dominate. For Lockdown Protocol specifically, the GPU is the component to upgrade first if higher resolution or settings are desired.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but the experience depends entirely on the target resolution.

At 1920x1080, the system is fully playable at every preset. Ultra settings deliver a 74 FPS average, which clears the 60 FPS threshold by a comfortable margin. Players can enable maximum quality and expect smooth performance. The Medium preset's 96 FPS minimum confirms that even demanding scenes stay playable.

At 2560x1440, the system is playable at High settings with a 72 FPS average. Low and Medium also clear 60 FPS, with 117 and 83 FPS averages respectively. Ultra is not playable, as its 54 FPS average falls short. For 1440p gaming, High is the recommended ceiling.

At 3840x2160, the system is playable only at Low settings, with a 75 FPS average. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall below 60 FPS, with averages of 53, 47, and 35 FPS respectively. 4K gaming is possible but requires the lowest preset and even then, the Medium minimum of 45 FPS suggests that occasional dips below 60 can occur on lower presets.

The overall combo rank of 2630 out of 3714 places this system in a modest position, but the verdict is positive for the game's most common usage. For 1080p, this is a strong setup. For 1440p, it is a capable setup with reasonable settings. For 4K, it is a compromise setup that works only at minimal quality. The RTX 2060 SUPER is the defining component here, and its 62nd percentile standing among GPUs sets the practical limits. The i5-9400, at the 47th percentile, is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking at the frame rates this GPU can deliver. Together, they offer a balanced mid-range experience for Lockdown Protocol.