Lockdown Protocol

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i5-9400 sits at the 47th percentile among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered, meaning the frame pacing and CPU-bound behavior in Lockdown Protocol would be nearly indistinguishable across these parts. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 posts an average score of 2259, a delta of just 0.2% above the i5-9400, making it the closest match. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, 0.4% higher, while the Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, 0.3% lower. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 rounds out the group at 2246, 0.4% below the i5-9400. In practical terms, any of these CPUs would deliver essentially identical performance in Lockdown Protocol, since the differences are under half a percent. The i5-9400 itself is a 6-core, 6-thread Coffee Lake part with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, but for comparison purposes, what matters is that its nearest rivals all fall within a range of less than 0.8% total spread. That means if a system builder were swapping between these CPUs, they would not observe any measurable change in average FPS in this game.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 holds the 61st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17208. Its nearest rivals, however, are far more disparate in terms of era and architecture. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT scores 17083, a delta of 0.7% below the RTX 3070, making it the most modern comparable alternative. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 scores 17037, 1.0% lower, and the AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 17019, 1.1% lower. On the higher side, the NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores 17468, 1.5% above the RTX 3070. These deltas remain small, all within 1.5%, so the RTX 3070's raw compute profile is closely matched by these parts. However, the GTX 690 and HD 7970M are legacy products with very different feature sets; the RTX 3070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which the older cards may not fully match. For Lockdown Protocol specifically, the measured FPS data comes from the RTX 3070, so any rival with a similar average score would likely produce comparable results, but the RX 7600 XT is the only one that shares a modern feature baseline. The RTX 3070 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, plus 5888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The GTX 690 and HD 7970M, despite having similar aggregate benchmark scores, do not offer the same memory bandwidth or shader count, so their real-world behavior in a DirectX 12 title like Lockdown Protocol could diverge despite the similar synthetic scores.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a clear shift in workload balance across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the CPU still has enough headroom to feed the GPU, and the RTX 3070 is the limiting factor. Moving from Low to Ultra at 1080p, the average FPS drops from 161.3 to 103.1, a 36% reduction. That scaling is driven by GPU load, not CPU limits, because the i5-9400 can sustain high frame rates at this resolution. At 2560x1440, the picture changes. The Low preset averages 147.3 FPS, while Ultra drops to 73.2 FPS, a 50% reduction. The gap between Low and Medium is 147.3 to 112.6, and then Medium to High is 112.6 to 96.7. The largest single step is from High to Ultra, which falls from 96.7 to 73.2, a 24% penalty. That suggests the Ultra preset introduces effects that heavily tax the GPU's memory subsystem or shading units. The CPU's role becomes more prominent at 1440p Low, where 147.3 FPS is only 9% below the 1080p Low figure of 161.3. That small delta indicates the i5-9400 is approaching its ceiling around 147-161 FPS in this game, so at lower graphical settings, the CPU starts to matter more.

At 3840x2160, the GPU dominates entirely. The Low preset averages 100.9 FPS, which is still well above the playable threshold, but the scaling is steep. Medium drops to 71.4 FPS, High to 63.5 FPS, and Ultra falls to 47.4 FPS. The gap from Low to Medium is 29%, and from Medium to High is 11%. The step from High to Ultra is another 25% reduction. This resolution is purely GPU-bound; the CPU's performance is essentially irrelevant because the RTX 3070 cannot keep up with the pixel throughput demands. The recorded data shows that at 4K, even the High preset barely clears 60 FPS at 63.5, while Ultra falls below the playable threshold. The CPU's benchmark scores (Cinebench R23 multicore 6629, singlecore 935) indicate it has enough single-thread performance for typical game logic, but at 4K, the GPU is doing all the heavy lifting. Comparing resolutions, the delta between 1080p Ultra and 4K Ultra is a 54% drop (103.1 to 47.4), while the delta between 1080p Low and 4K Low is 37% (161.3 to 100.9). This confirms that higher presets amplify the GPU bottleneck more than higher resolutions alone, because the Ultra preset adds effects that scale with pixel count.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. At 1920x1080 with the Ultra preset, the recorded average FPS is 103.1, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict database confirms all four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at this resolution.

Q: What is the best preset for 2560x1440 that stays above 60 FPS?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 73.2 FPS, so it is fully playable. The verdict database lists Ultra as the best settings for this resolution, with an average FPS of 73.2. All four presets at 1440p clear the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is the RTX 3070 strong enough for 3840x2160?

A: Only partially. At 4K, the High preset averages 63.5 FPS, which barely clears 60. The Medium preset averages 71.4 FPS, and Low averages 100.9 FPS. However, the Ultra preset drops to 47.4 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. So 4K is playable, but only up to High settings.

Q: How does the i5-9400 compare to its closest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, scores 2259, which is 0.2% higher. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264 (0.4% higher), the Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248 (0.3% lower), and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246 (0.4% lower). All are within 0.4% of each other.

Q: What GPU alternatives are closest to the RTX 3070?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT scores 17083, 0.7% below the RTX 3070's 17208. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 scores 17037 (1.0% lower), the AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 17019 (1.1% lower), and the NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores 17468 (1.5% higher). These are the nearest rivals by average benchmark score.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more in Lockdown Protocol?

A: At 1920x1080, the GPU is the primary limiter. At 2560x1440, the CPU becomes more relevant at Low settings, where FPS reaches 147.3, close to the 1080p Low figure of 161.3. At 3840x2160, the GPU is entirely the bottleneck, with the CPU having no practical impact on frame rates.

The Verdict

This combination of an Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 can run Lockdown Protocol, but the experience depends heavily on resolution and preset. The playable threshold is 60 FPS, and the verdict data breaks down as follows. At 3840x2160, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with the best being High at 63.5 FPS. Ultra at 4K is not playable, as it averages 47.4 FPS. At 2560x1440, all four settings are playable, and Ultra is the best at 73.2 FPS. At 1920x1080, all four settings are also playable, with Ultra at 103.1 FPS. So the answer is yes, this PC can run the game, but the user must be selective about presets at 4K. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, the highest resolution that allows Ultra is 2560x1440. At 1080p, there is substantial headroom, with even Ultra averaging over 100 FPS. The data shows no frame time or minimum FPS values, so the analysis relies solely on average FPS, but all averages at playable settings are comfortably above the 60 FPS line, with the sole exception of 4K Ultra. The i5-9400, despite being an older 6-core part, does not appear to bottleneck the RTX 3070 at any resolution tested, since the FPS scaling between resolutions and presets follows a GPU-bound pattern. The CPU's 47th percentile ranking among all CPUs is modest, but for this game, it is sufficient. The GPU's 61st percentile ranking is more relevant, and its performance at 1440p Ultra (73.2 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (103.1 FPS) demonstrates that this combo is well-suited for high-refresh 1080p and smooth 1440p gaming.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is as follows. At 3840x2160, the best playable preset is High, which averages 63.5 FPS. The Medium preset averages 71.4 FPS, and Low averages 100.9 FPS, but High is the most demanding that stays above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra at 4K is not viable, as it falls to 47.4 FPS. At 2560x1440, the best playable preset is Ultra, averaging 73.2 FPS. This is the highest quality setting available, and it clears the threshold by a margin of 13.2 FPS. The High preset at 1440p averages 96.7 FPS, Medium at 112.6, and Low at 147.3, but Ultra is the recommended choice since it delivers the best visual quality while still being playable. At 1920x1080, the best playable preset is also Ultra, averaging 103.1 FPS. This is the maximum settings option, and it provides a substantial cushion above the 60 FPS line. The High preset at 1080p averages 133.3 FPS, Medium at 144.4, and Low at 161.3, but Ultra is the clear best option for visual fidelity. In summary, the user can run Ultra at both 1080p and 1440p, but must drop to High at 4K. The margins are comfortable at 1080p (43.1 FPS above the threshold) and moderate at 1440p (13.2 FPS above), but at 4K, the High preset only has 3.5 FPS of headroom, so any demanding scene could push it below 60. The data does not include minimum FPS readings, so this 4K High result should be treated with some caution, though the average is technically playable.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing of Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1639 out of 3714 total combos. That places it in the 44th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 56% of combinations perform better in this specific game. The rank is based on the measured FPS data across all resolutions and presets, and it reflects the combination's overall capability rather than just peak performance. The i5-9400's 47th percentile CPU ranking and the RTX 3070's 61st percentile GPU ranking are both middling, so it is not surprising that the combined score lands around the 44th percentile. The CPU is the weaker link in this pairing, as its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 6629 and singlecore score of 935 are modest by current standards. However, the RTX 3070's strong 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3162 and Passmark G3D score of 22214 help offset the CPU's limitations. In Lockdown Protocol, the game is primarily GPU-bound at higher presets, so the combo's rank is likely dragged down more by the CPU at low presets and high frame rates, where the i5-9400's 6 threads can become a limiting factor. The 3714 total combos include a wide range of hardware, from budget parts to flagship CPUs and GPUs, so a rank of 1639 indicates this system is below average but not at the bottom. For context, the RTX 3070 alone sits at the 61st percentile among all GPUs, but the combo rank is lower because the CPU prevents the GPU from reaching its full potential at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the FPS of 161.3 is likely close to what the CPU can sustain, whereas a stronger CPU with the same GPU would push higher. The data does not provide a breakdown of FPS by individual component, but the combo rank reflects the aggregate result. In summary, this system is a competent 1080p and 1440p machine for Lockdown Protocol, but it does not stand out in the broader database, ranking in the lower-mid tier of all tested combinations.