Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti delivers a very strong performance profile for Lockdown Protocol, with the data showing every preset at every tested resolution staying well above the 60 FPS playability threshold. The combination of an older six-core processor with a current-generation Blackwell GPU creates an interesting dynamic where the graphics card clearly dominates the performance picture, as evidenced by the scaling patterns across the resolution and settings matrix.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that remains at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which records an average of 72.8 FPS. The 4K resolution does impose a measurable load on the system, with High settings averaging 90.3 FPS, Medium hitting 108.8 FPS, and Low reaching 128.5 FPS, but the headroom above the 60 FPS target is comfortable even at the maximum preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Ultra preset again qualifies as the best playable setting, with an average of 109.7 FPS. The step down from 4K to 1440p provides a substantial boost, roughly 50% higher than the 4K Ultra result. High settings at this resolution average 120.7 FPS, Medium runs at 131.7 FPS, and Low tops out at 145.9 FPS, showing that 1440p is a very comfortable zone for this pairing.

At 1920x1080, Ultra remains the recommended preset with an average of 124.1 FPS. The full HD resolution shows the strongest raw numbers in the dataset: High delivers 136.8 FPS, Medium reaches 144.6 FPS, and Low produces 162.9 FPS. The interesting takeaway here is that the gap between 1440p and 1080p is much smaller than the gap between 4K and 1440p, which indicates that the CPU starts to exert some influence on the upper frame rate ceiling at lower resolutions.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded data indicates that this game is largely GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but the CPU becomes progressively more relevant as resolution drops. At 3840x2160, the spread between Low and Ultra settings is 55.7 FPS, from 128.5 down to 72.8, which is a classic sign of heavy GPU workload scaling. The RTX 5070 Ti is clearly doing most of the heavy lifting at 4K, with the Core i5-9400 having enough headroom to feed the GPU without becoming a primary constraint.

The 2560x1440 results tell a similar story but with a tighter spread. Low averages 145.9 FPS while Ultra sits at 109.7 FPS, a difference of 36.2 FPS. This narrower gap suggests that the GPU is still the dominant factor, but the CPU is beginning to influence the upper bounds of performance. The fact that Low settings produce only 145.9 FPS at 1440p, compared to 162.9 FPS at 1080p, hints that the Core i5-9400 is approaching its practical limit for frame generation in this title.

At 1920x1080, the CPU role becomes more apparent. The spread between Low and Ultra is 38.8 FPS, but the absolute ceiling of 162.9 FPS on Low settings suggests a CPU-imposed limit. The RTX 5070 Ti is capable of far higher frame rates in many titles, but the six-core, six-thread Coffee Lake processor caps the output. Even so, the average of 124.1 FPS on Ultra at 1080p is far above the playability threshold, so the CPU limitation is not a practical concern for this game.

The scaling from 4K to 1440p to 1080p shows diminishing returns. The jump from 4K Ultra at 72.8 FPS to 1440p Ultra at 109.7 FPS is a 50.6% improvement, while the jump from 1440p Ultra to 1080p Ultra at 124.1 FPS is only a 13.1% improvement. This pattern strongly indicates that the GPU is the primary performance driver at 4K and 1440p, while the CPU starts to level off the gains at 1080p.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals in the database for the Core i5-9400, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259 in the aggregate benchmark, which is 0.2% lower than the i5-9400 average score of 2254. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, a 0.3% difference, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, a 0.4% difference. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, which is 0.4% higher. In practical terms, any of these processors would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Lockdown Protocol, meaning the frame rates at 1080p would be effectively indistinguishable from the Core i5-9400.

For the GPU side, the RTX 5070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 49957, and the nearest rivals are remarkably close. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 scores 50001, just 0.1% higher, while the Intel Arc A550M scores 49737, 0.4% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT scores 50951, which is 2% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT scores 48477, which is 3.1% lower. These deltas are small enough that a system with any of these GPUs paired with the Core i5-9400 would land within a few frames per second of the recorded averages across all resolutions and settings.

The practical advice here is that someone considering this specific combo could substitute any of these CPUs or GPUs with minimal impact on the measured frame rates. The 3.1% difference from the RX 6800 XT would translate to roughly 3 to 4 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is within the margin of run-to-run variation. The CPU alternatives are even closer, with all four rivals within 0.4% of the Core i5-9400, so the choice between them comes down to platform and availability rather than gaming performance.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 4K with all settings maxed out?

A: Yes. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 averages 72.8 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playability threshold defined by the database.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU plays a greater role at lower resolutions. The jump from 1440p Ultra to 1080p Ultra only improves the average from 109.7 to 124.1 FPS, a 13.1% gain, while the jump from 4K Ultra to 1440p Ultra yields a 50.6% improvement. The Core i5-9400 appears to cap the upper frame rates at 1080p, though all settings still exceed 124 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Ultra is the best preset at 2560x1440, with an average of 109.7 FPS. High runs at 120.7 FPS, Medium at 131.7 FPS, and Low at 145.9 FPS, so there is ample headroom to use the highest quality settings.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 Ti compare to the RX 6800 XT in this system?

A: The RX 6800 XT has an average benchmark score 3.1% lower than the RTX 5070 Ti, which would put its frame rates a few FPS below the recorded numbers across all resolutions and presets.

Q: Are there any settings at any resolution that fall below 60 FPS?

A: No. Every recorded combination of resolution and preset stays above the 60 FPS threshold. The lowest average in the dataset is 72.8 FPS at 4K Ultra.

Q: Would a different CPU in the same performance class change the results?

A: The nearest CPU rivals, such as the Intel Core i3-10305 at 0.4% higher aggregate score or the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 at 0.4% lower, would produce nearly identical frame rates. The differences are within run-to-run variance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the recorded averages are as follows: Low runs at 162.9 FPS, Medium at 144.6 FPS, High at 136.8 FPS, and Ultra at 124.1 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a drop of 18.3 FPS, from Medium to High is 7.8 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 12.7 FPS. The total spread from the lowest to highest preset is 38.8 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 145.9 FPS, Medium drops to 131.7 FPS, High runs at 120.7 FPS, and Ultra lands at 109.7 FPS. The setting-to-setting deltas are 14.2 FPS between Low and Medium, 11.0 FPS between Medium and High, and 11.0 FPS between High and Ultra. The spread here is 36.2 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the averages show the steepest scaling: Low produces 128.5 FPS, Medium drops to 108.8 FPS, High runs at 90.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 72.8 FPS. The deltas are 19.7 FPS between Low and Medium, 18.5 FPS between Medium and High, and 17.5 FPS between High and Ultra. The total spread is 55.7 FPS, the largest of any resolution.

The database records only average FPS values for this title, with no minimum or maximum frame time data available. The absence of min and max figures means the analysis focuses on sustained average performance, which in this case is uniformly strong across the entire matrix.

How This Combo Ranks

This pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti ranks 1201 out of 3714 tested combinations in the database for Lockdown Protocol. That places it in the upper third of all tested systems, roughly the 67.7th percentile overall. The rank reflects the combined CPU and GPU performance, and the relatively modest CPU component holds back what would otherwise be a top-tier result given the GPU capability.

The rank is somewhat lower than the GPU percentile alone might suggest, since the RTX 5070 Ti sits at the 86th percentile among all GPUs while the Core i5-9400 is at the 47th percentile among all CPUs. The balanced picture shows a system that performs well above the typical tested combination, with the GPU pulling most of the weight. The 1080p results, where the CPU has more influence, likely contribute to the rank not being higher, but the overall standing of 1201 out of 3714 is solid for a system built around a six-core processor from the Coffee Lake generation.