Lockdown Protocol

FAQ

Q: What kind of game is Lockdown Protocol?

A: Lockdown Protocol is an FPS game that was released on 2024-03-11.

Q: Does the Intel Core i5-9400 bottleneck the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 in this game?

A: The data does not show a hard bottleneck at any tested resolution. At 1920x1080, the combo reaches 163 FPS on Low settings, which indicates the CPU can feed the GPU well above the 60 FPS playability threshold. The CPU sits in the 47th percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU sits in the 61st percentile among all GPUs, so the pairing is balanced enough for this title.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 4K for this combo?

A: At 3840x2160, the best playable preset is Medium, which delivers an average of 63 FPS. The Low preset runs at 89 FPS, but Medium is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS.

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at Ultra settings on a 1440p monitor?

A: Yes. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset produces an average of 64 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playability threshold. The system can also run High (86 FPS), Medium (98 FPS), and Low (138 FPS) at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rivals in raw benchmark score?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 17639. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 scores 17666 (0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588 (0.3% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 17551 (0.5% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 scores 17509 (0.7% lower). These are all effectively equivalent in aggregate compute performance.

Q: Is the Core i5-9400 a modern processor for this game?

A: The Core i5-9400 is an end-of-life desktop chip from the Coffee Lake architecture, released on 2018-10-18. It has 6 cores and 6 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its benchmark scores, such as 6629 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, place it near CPUs like the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (0.2% faster) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (0.4% slower), so it remains competitive for this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 2070th out of 3714 tested combos in the database for Lockdown Protocol. That places this pairing in the 44th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 56% of recorded combinations deliver higher average frame rates in this game. The rank reflects the fact that the RTX 4060 is a mid-range GPU from the GeForce 40-series, while the Core i5-9400 is a six-core Coffee Lake part from 2018.

The measured frame rates tell a clear story: at 1920x1080, the combo produces 163 FPS on Low, 134 FPS on Medium, 117 FPS on High, and 88 FPS on Ultra. Those numbers are strong for a 1080p gamer, and the 88 FPS at Ultra is well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, the system still clears 60 FPS at every preset, with Ultra at 64 FPS being the only preset close to the threshold. At 3840x2160, the picture changes: Ultra drops to 42 FPS, High sits at 55 FPS, Medium hits 63 FPS, and Low reaches 89 FPS.

The ranking of 2070 out of 3714 is heavily influenced by the 4K results, where the RTX 4060's 8 GB GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth limit performance at higher resolutions. The GPU's 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs and the CPU's 47th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggest the system is neither a top-tier nor a low-end contender; it is a solid mid-range setup that excels at 1080p and handles 1440p well, but struggles to maintain high presets at 4K.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows that the GPU is the dominant component at higher resolutions, while the CPU's role becomes more visible at 1080p. At 1920x1080, the frame rate spans from 163 FPS on Low to 88 FPS on Ultra, a range of 75 FPS. This wide spread indicates that the GPU is doing most of the work; when settings are lowered, the GPU can push far more frames, and the CPU is capable of keeping up with that demand. The i5-9400's six cores and six threads, with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, appear sufficient to feed the RTX 4060 at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the frame rate ranges from 138 FPS on Low to 64 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 74 FPS, similar to 1080p, but the absolute numbers drop. This suggests the GPU is still the limiting factor, as the additional pixel workload reduces output across all presets. The CPU is not the constraint here; the RTX 4060's 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 118.1 GPixel/s pixel rate are what scale with resolution.

At 3840x2160, the frame rate ranges from 89 FPS on Low to 42 FPS on Ultra, a 47 FPS spread. The Ultra preset at 42 FPS is the only sub-60 result in the entire measured set, and High at 55 FPS also misses the threshold. This is a clear sign that the GPU is saturated at 4K, especially with the heavier presets. The CPU's role diminishes further at this resolution, as the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The scaling between 1080p and 1440p is roughly 15% to 27% slower depending on preset, and the scaling from 1440p to 4K is roughly 36% to 40% slower, which aligns with the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel throughput limits.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals in the database, the Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, which is 0.2% faster, making it a near-identical match for CPU-bound scenarios. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, 0.3% slower, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, 0.4% slower. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, 0.4% faster. Any of these CPUs would behave very similarly to the i5-9400 in Lockdown Protocol, since their aggregate benchmark scores are within a fraction of a percent.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 17639. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 scores 17666, just 0.2% higher, which is a remarkable parity for a much older card. The AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588, 0.3% lower, and the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 17551, 0.5% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro 460 scores 17509, 0.7% lower. In terms of raw compute, any of these GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, although the RTX 4060 offers features like ray tracing cores and DLSS-capable tensor cores that these rivals do not have.

For a system builder looking at similar performance, swapping the i5-9400 for an i7-1068NG7 or an i3-10305 would yield essentially the same experience in this game. Swapping the RTX 4060 for a Radeon 780M or Radeon Pro 560 would also keep frame rates in the same ballpark, based on the aggregate scores. The practical takeaway is that this combo sits in a performance band where small changes in CPU or GPU choice will not meaningfully alter the playability verdict at any resolution.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 88 FPS. The system can also run High at 117 FPS, Medium at 134 FPS, and Low at 163 FPS, all well above the threshold.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 64 FPS. High runs at 86 FPS, Medium at 98 FPS, and Low at 138 FPS. Ultra at 1440p is playable, but the 64 FPS average leaves little headroom for dips; the recorded Medium preset shows a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 113 FPS, which suggests Ultra may dip below 60 in heavy scenes, though the average clears it.

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, with an average of 63 FPS. The Medium preset has a recorded minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS, so while the average clears the 60 FPS threshold, there are moments where performance drops below it. Low runs at 89 FPS and is the safer choice for consistent 4K play. High sits at 55 FPS and Ultra at 42 FPS, both below the playability threshold.

The Verdict

The data shows that this PC can run Lockdown Protocol, and it does so comfortably at 1080p and 1440p. At 1920x1080, every preset from Low to Ultra clears the 60 FPS playability threshold, with Ultra averaging 88 FPS. At 2560x1440, every preset also clears 60 FPS, with Ultra averaging 64 FPS. The verdict for both of these resolutions is a clear yes.

At 3840x2160, the system is playable but with restrictions. The playable settings are Low and Medium, with Medium being the best preset at an average of 63 FPS. High and Ultra are not playable, averaging 55 FPS and 42 FPS respectively. The Medium preset's minimum of 54 FPS means that 4K gaming is borderline, so players who want a stable experience at 4K should stick with Low at 89 FPS or accept occasional dips on Medium.

The overall assessment is that the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 pairing is a capable 1080p and 1440p machine for Lockdown Protocol, with 4K limited to lower presets. The GPU's 61st percentile ranking and the CPU's 47th percentile ranking align with this outcome: the system is not built for maxed-out 4K, but it delivers smooth performance at the resolutions most gamers will use. The 2070th rank out of 3714 combos reflects a mid-pack standing, and the measured frame rates confirm that this is a solid choice for high-refresh 1080p or high-quality 1440p play.