Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks in the 1191st position out of 3714 tested combinations in the database for Lockdown Protocol. This places the combo in the upper third of all recorded configurations, roughly in the 68th percentile of performance. The ranking reflects a significant imbalance in the pairing: the RTX 4080 SUPER is an exceptionally fast GPU, while the i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor from the Coffee Lake generation that now sits well behind modern CPUs in synthetic benchmarks. The database shows the i5-9400 scoring in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2254, while the RTX 4080 SUPER sits in the 86th percentile of all GPUs with an average score of 54209. That gap means the CPU is more likely to be the limiting factor in this title, particularly at lower resolutions and higher frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The database records this combination as the 1191st best performer out of 3714 combos tested for Lockdown Protocol. That is a solid result, but it is not a top-tier ranking, and the reason is clear from the component-level data. The RTX 4080 SUPER is a flagship-class graphics card, but the i5-9400 is a mid-range processor from 2018. In the database's CPU benchmarks, the i5-9400 posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and a single-core score of 935, which places it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs. The GPU, by contrast, delivers a Passmark G3D score of 34245 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6600, placing it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs.

The practical consequence is that in many scenes, the CPU cannot feed the GPU fast enough to reach the card's full potential. The measured FPS data confirms this: at 1080p Ultra, the combo averages 122.5 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 73.6 FPS. The scaling between resolutions is not linear, which suggests that the CPU is holding back performance at lower resolutions where the GPU has headroom to spare. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, and the frame rate drops accordingly. Still, for a game like Lockdown Protocol, this combo delivers playable frame rates at every resolution and preset tested, which is more than many lower-ranked configurations can claim.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra. The measured average at 4K Ultra is 73.6 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold by a comfortable margin. High settings at 4K push the average to 96.6 FPS, Medium to 111.8 FPS, and Low to 127.1 FPS, but there is no need to drop below Ultra for the sake of smoothness. The 4K Ultra figure is well within the playable range, and the database's verdict confirms that all four settings, Low, Medium, High, and Ultra, are playable at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the best setting is also Ultra, with an average of 110.5 FPS. That is a substantial jump over the 4K figure, and it leaves plenty of headroom for high-refresh-rate monitors. High settings at 1440p average 125.6 FPS, Medium averages 129.4 FPS, and Low averages 145.8 FPS. All of these are far above the 60 FPS threshold, so the choice of preset comes down to visual quality rather than playability.

At 1920x1080, Ultra remains the best setting, delivering an average of 122.5 FPS. High settings average 137 FPS, Medium averages 145.8 FPS, and Low averages 161 FPS. The 1080p Ultra figure is more than double the 60 FPS threshold, meaning this combo is well suited for competitive play where high refresh rates matter. In every resolution, the database lists all four presets as playable, so the answer is simple: run the game at Ultra settings regardless of whether you are on a 1080p, 1440p, or 4K display.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear shift in which component dominates performance as resolution changes. At 1920x1080, the i5-9400 is the limiting factor. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is only 38.5 FPS (161 down to 122.5), which is a modest drop for a large increase in visual fidelity. That relatively small delta suggests the CPU is capping the maximum frame rate, because a GPU with the RTX 4080 SUPER's capabilities would ordinarily show a much larger gap between Low and Ultra at a resolution it can handle easily. The GPU is not being fully utilized at 1080p Low, where the CPU is likely maxed out.

Moving to 2560x1440, the balance shifts. The gap between Low and Ultra grows to 35.3 FPS (145.8 down to 110.5), which is still a moderate difference, but the absolute frame rates are higher than at 1080p. That is counterintuitive at first glance: a higher resolution usually produces lower frame rates, not higher ones. The explanation is that at 1440p, the GPU begins to take on more of the workload, which relieves the CPU bottleneck and allows the overall frame rate to climb. The 1440p Low figure of 145.8 FPS is lower than the 1080p Low figure of 161 FPS, but the 1440p Ultra figure of 110.5 FPS is close to the 1080p Ultra figure of 122.5 FPS, indicating that the CPU is still relevant but less dominant.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the primary constraint. The drop from 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra is 36.9 FPS (110.5 down to 73.6), which is a significant reduction and a clear sign that the RTX 4080 SUPER is now the bottleneck. The CPU has enough headroom at 4K to keep up, but the GPU is working much harder to fill the larger frame buffer. The 4K Low to Ultra gap is 53.5 FPS (127.1 down to 73.6), the largest spread of any resolution, which further confirms that the GPU is the deciding factor at this resolution. In short, the i5-9400 limits performance at 1080p, the two components are more balanced at 1440p, and the RTX 4080 SUPER is the main driver at 4K.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals in the database, the i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254. The closest match is the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, which scores 2259, a difference of only 0.2%. That processor would behave almost identically in Lockdown Protocol, as far as CPU-bound scenarios are concerned. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, which is 0.3% lower, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, which is 0.4% lower. On the other side, the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, which is 0.4% higher than the i5-9400. Any of these CPUs would deliver essentially the same frame rates in this game, so if you are looking at a system with one of these processors instead, the gaming experience would be indistinguishable in practice.

For the GPU, the RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 54209. Its closest rival is the standard NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, which scores 54247, a delta of just 0.1%. That is effectively a tie. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828, which is 1.1% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698, which is 2.7% higher. The AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55757, which is 2.8% higher. These differences are small enough that in real-world gaming, the frame rates would be within a few percent of each other. For Lockdown Protocol, swapping the RTX 4080 SUPER for an RTX 4080 would produce nearly identical results, and even the AMD cards listed would not create a noticeable difference in playability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the recorded average frame rates are as follows: Low settings deliver 161 FPS, Medium delivers 145.8 FPS, High delivers 137 FPS, and Ultra delivers 122.5 FPS. The database does not list minimum or maximum frame rates for any of these configurations, so the averages are the only measured data points. The spread from Low to Ultra is 38.5 FPS, which is a moderate range and indicates that the CPU is a significant factor at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 145.8 FPS, Medium at 129.4 FPS, High at 125.6 FPS, and Ultra at 110.5 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 35.3 FPS, slightly narrower than at 1080p. The fact that 1440p Low (145.8 FPS) is lower than 1080p Low (161 FPS) shows that the GPU is starting to take on more work, but the 1440p Ultra figure of 110.5 FPS is still very high.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 127.1 FPS, Medium at 111.8 FPS, High at 96.6 FPS, and Ultra at 73.6 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 53.5 FPS, the largest of any resolution. This is the clearest evidence that the GPU is the dominant factor at 4K, as the frame rate drops steeply with each increase in settings. Even at 4K Ultra, the 73.6 FPS average is above the 60 FPS threshold, so the game remains smooth.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol without issue. The database's verdict lists every resolution and every preset as playable, meaning the average frame rate is at or above 60 FPS in all twelve measured configurations. At 3840x2160, the best settings are Ultra with an average of 73.6 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 110.5 FPS. At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 122.5 FPS. There is no scenario in the recorded data where this combo falls below the playable threshold.

The only caveat is that the i5-9400 is an older CPU, and its performance in CPU-bound scenes at 1080p is not as strong as more modern processors. But the measured results show that even in the most demanding preset at the highest resolution, this system clears the 60 FPS bar with room to spare. If you own this combination, you can run Lockdown Protocol at maximum settings on any of the three tested resolutions and expect a smooth experience. The RTX 4080 SUPER is powerful enough to compensate for the CPU's age, and the frame rates recorded in the database confirm that this pairing is more than adequate for the game.