Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Lockdown Protocol, with average frame rates that clear the 60 FPS threshold at every preset and resolution combination recorded in the database. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings, yet retains enough headroom at lower presets to suggest the CPU is not a limiting factor, even at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, contextualizes the ranking, and answers common questions about this specific configuration.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database records the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS at each resolution. For this combination, the results are decisive: every single setting tier at every resolution surpasses the playable threshold, which allows the system to run the absolute maximum visual quality without compromise.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 125.3 FPS. This is the highest settings level available, and it not only clears the 60 FPS bar but does so with more than double the required headroom. The High preset at this resolution averages 139 FPS, Medium reaches 142.7 FPS, and Low tops out at 164.7 FPS. There is no reason to drop below Ultra at 1080p based on the recorded data.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Ultra preset again remains the best choice, with an average of 105.4 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 20 FPS at Ultra, but the result remains firmly above the playability threshold. High averages 125 FPS, Medium hits 127.1 FPS, and Low pushes to 149.7 FPS. The gap between High and Medium at this resolution is only 2.1 FPS, suggesting a plateau in GPU workload between those two settings.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset still qualifies as the best settings option, averaging 70.2 FPS. This is the only resolution where the margin above 60 FPS narrows to a single-digit lead, but it is still a clear pass. High averages 89.2 FPS, Medium reaches 103.2 FPS, and Low delivers 126 FPS. The performance drop from Medium to Ultra at 4K is substantial, a 33 FPS reduction, which indicates that Ultra at this resolution is where the GPU finally begins to feel the pressure.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database's tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti holds the rank of 1217 out of 3714 total combos. That places it in the upper third of all tested systems, roughly in the 67th percentile of configurations. The ranking reflects the entire system, not just the GPU, and the i5-9400's age likely holds the combo back from a higher position despite the RTX 4070 Ti's capabilities.

The CPU itself sits at the 47th percentile when compared against all processors in the database, which is a middling position for a six-core, six-thread part from 2018. The GPU, by contrast, ranks at the 84th percentile against all graphics cards, a strong showing that underscores the imbalance in this pairing. The database's ranking of the combo at 1217 suggests that while the GPU is capable of pushing high frame rates, the older CPU prevents the system from reaching the top echelons of performance that a newer processor might unlock.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 4K on Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The measured data shows an average of 70.2 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by 10.2 FPS.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest recorded average is 164.7 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

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

A: The average frame rate drops from 125.3 FPS at 1920x1080 to 105.4 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 19.9 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 Ti the bottleneck at 1080p Low settings?

A: The data does not directly measure bottleneck, but the modest 39.4 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p, combined with the CPU's 47th percentile ranking, implies that the i5-9400 may limit the GPU at lower settings where frame rates exceed 160 FPS.

Q: Which resolution shows the largest gap between Medium and Ultra?

A: At 3840x2160, the gap between Medium (103.2 FPS) and Ultra (70.2 FPS) is 33 FPS, the largest recorded gap for any adjacent settings pair across all resolutions.

Q: Does the system ever drop below 60 FPS in the recorded data?

A: No. Every measured average at every resolution and setting combination is above 60 FPS, with the lowest being 70.2 FPS at 4K Ultra.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the database lists several processors with nearly identical average benchmark scores to the Intel Core i5-9400. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, which is only 0.2% lower than the i5-9400's average of 2254. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, a 0.3% difference. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, a 0.4% difference, and the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, a 0.4% difference in the opposite direction. Any of these processors would behave nearly identically to the i5-9400 in this system, meaning the frame rates recorded for Lockdown Protocol would likely be very similar if paired with the same RTX 4070 Ti.

On the GPU side, the nearest rivals to the RTX 4070 Ti include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile, which scores 45152, a 0.8% difference from the 4070 Ti's average benchmark score of 44795. The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT scores 45384, a 1.3% difference, and the Intel Arc A730M scores 45592, a 1.7% difference. The NVIDIA RTX A6000 scores 44075, a 1.6% difference. These GPUs would produce frame rates in Lockdown Protocol that are within a few percentage points of the RTX 4070 Ti, though the mobile variants and workstation cards may behave differently under sustained load in a desktop context.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals which component carries the load in Lockdown Protocol. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 39.4 FPS (164.7 down to 125.3). At 2560x1440, that same Low-to-Ultra gap narrows to 44.3 FPS (149.7 down to 105.4). At 3840x2160, the gap widens to 55.8 FPS (126 down to 70.2). This pattern, where the spread between settings grows as resolution increases, is a classic sign of a GPU-bound workload at higher resolutions.

However, the CPU's role becomes more apparent when looking at the Low preset across resolutions. At Low settings, the GPU has less work to do, so the frame rate ceiling is more likely to be set by the processor. The recorded data shows 164.7 FPS at 1080p Low, 149.7 FPS at 1440p Low, and 126 FPS at 4K Low. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low is 15 FPS, and from 1440p to 4K is 23.7 FPS. These are still substantial reductions, meaning the GPU is not fully idle even at Low, but the relatively small gap between 1080p and 1440p at Low suggests the CPU is approaching its limit in those scenarios.

At Ultra settings, the resolution scaling is more dramatic: 125.3 FPS at 1080p, 105.4 FPS at 1440p, and 70.2 FPS at 4K. The 35.2 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K at Ultra is the largest single-step reduction in the entire dataset, confirming that the RTX 4070 Ti is the primary driver of performance at the highest quality tier. The i5-9400, with its 6 cores and 6 threads, is sufficient to keep frame rates above 60 FPS in every scenario, but the data implies that a newer CPU would likely push the 1080p and 1440p Low numbers even higher.

The Verdict

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti can absolutely run Lockdown Protocol, and the recorded data shows it does so with authority. The verdict by resolution is unambiguous: all three resolutions, 1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160, have every setting tier listed as playable. The best settings at each resolution are Ultra, with average frame rates of 125.3 FPS at 1080p, 105.4 FPS at 1440p, and 70.2 FPS at 4K.

For a player with a 1080p or 1440p monitor, this system offers a high-refresh-rate experience at maximum quality without any need to compromise. At 4K, the system still delivers Ultra settings above 60 FPS, though the 10.2 FPS margin means there is less headroom for future content updates or more demanding scenes. The only caveat in the data is the CPU's age, as the i5-9400 sits at the 47th percentile and may limit frame rates at lower settings, but for the purpose of playing Lockdown Protocol at playable frame rates, this combo passes every test in the database.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The database records average frame rates for twelve distinct combinations of resolution and settings, with no minimum or maximum values captured. The full breakdown is as follows.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 164.7 FPS, Medium averages 142.7 FPS, High averages 139 FPS, and Ultra averages 125.3 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 22 FPS reduction, while the step from Medium to High is only 3.7 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 13.7 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 149.7 FPS, Medium averages 127.1 FPS, High averages 125 FPS, and Ultra averages 105.4 FPS. The Low-to-Medium drop is 22.6 FPS, the Medium-to-High drop is 2.1 FPS, and the High-to-Ultra drop is 19.6 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 126 FPS, Medium averages 103.2 FPS, High averages 89.2 FPS, and Ultra averages 70.2 FPS. The Low-to-Medium drop is 22.8 FPS, the Medium-to-High drop is 14 FPS, and the High-to-Ultra drop is 19 FPS.

The minimum recorded average across all tests is 70.2 FPS at 4K Ultra, and the maximum is 164.7 FPS at 1080p Low. Every single data point exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold, making this one of the more straightforward verdicts in the database for a game with demanding first-person shooter visuals.