Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 presents a striking imbalance in raw compute power, yet the recorded data for Lockdown Protocol shows this combination delivers consistently high frame rates across every tested resolution and preset. The CPU, a Coffee Lake six-core part with six threads, sits at the 47th percentile among all processors in the database, while the GPU, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, holds the 92nd percentile among all graphics cards. This pairing produces average frame rates that never dip below 83.4 frames per second in any configuration, making the system comfortably playable by the 60 FPS threshold used throughout this analysis.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the system produces its highest raw output. With Low settings, the average frame rate reaches 161.5 FPS. Moving to Medium settings drops the average to 143.7 FPS, a reduction of 17.8 FPS from Low. High settings yield 134.9 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 122.8 FPS. The spread between the least and most demanding presets at this resolution is 38.7 FPS, indicating that Lockdown Protocol scales noticeably with graphical fidelity but remains far above the playability floor at every step.

At 2560x1440, the averages step down but remain strong. Low settings record 149 FPS, which is 12.5 FPS lower than the same preset at 1080p. Medium settings average 130.4 FPS, High settings average 124.1 FPS, and Ultra settings average 111.4 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 37.6 FPS, nearly identical to the 1080p spread. This consistency suggests the rendering load scales in a predictable manner when moving from Full HD to Quad HD, with the GPU absorbing the extra pixel count without any catastrophic drop.

At 3840x2160, 4K resolution, the system still clears the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin. Low settings average 126.9 FPS. Medium settings average 110.1 FPS. High settings average 106.5 FPS. Ultra settings average 83.4 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 43.5 FPS, a slightly wider gap than at lower resolutions, which indicates that the Ultra preset imposes a heavier relative penalty at higher pixel densities. Even so, the lowest recorded average across all resolution and preset combinations is 83.4 FPS, which leaves substantial headroom above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

The database records no separate minimum or maximum frame rate values for any of these tests, so the analysis relies entirely on average frame rates. The data indicates a smooth downward trend as resolution increases and as settings become more demanding. The largest single step occurs when moving from Low to Medium at 4K, where the average drops by 16.8 FPS, and the smallest step occurs when moving from Medium to High at 4K, where the average drops by only 3.6 FPS. This pattern suggests that the High preset at 4K is nearly as demanding as Medium, while Ultra imposes a significantly larger cost.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU in this system, the Intel Core i5-9400, has an average benchmark score of 2254 across the database's suite of tests. The nearest rivals in the processor rankings are all within a fraction of a percent of that figure. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, which is 0.2 percent higher. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, also 0.4 percent higher. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, which is 0.3 percent lower. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, which is 0.4 percent lower. In practical terms, any of these four processors would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Lockdown Protocol, assuming the GPU remains the same.

The GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, has an average benchmark score of 79842. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB with a score of 79605, which is 0.3 percent lower, and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB with a score of 79396, which is 0.6 percent lower. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78940, 1.1 percent lower, and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 80959, 1.4 percent higher. These deltas are all under 1.5 percent, meaning a system built with any of these GPUs would produce frame rates within a small margin of the RTX 5090's recorded results in this game. The combination of the i5-9400 and the RTX 5090 ranks 1130 out of 3714 tested combinations in the database for Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the upper third of all pairings.

The benchmark scores for the CPU show a multicore Cinebench R23 result of 6629, a Geekbench multicore result of 5141, and a single-core Geekbench result of 1389. The GPU's Passmark G3D score is 39650, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 18355. These figures contextualize the measured FPS results, confirming that the GPU is the dominant component in raw throughput while the CPU provides adequate, if not exceptional, processing power for the game's logic and physics.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS on a 4K display?

A: Yes. The recorded data shows playable settings at 3840x2160 include High, Low, Medium, and Ultra, with the Ultra preset averaging 83.4 FPS, which exceeds the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best preset to use at 1440p for maximum visual quality?

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset is the most demanding option that remains playable, averaging 111.4 FPS. All four presets, Low, Medium, High, and Ultra, are marked as playable at this resolution.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings?

A: At Low settings, the average drops from 161.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 126.9 FPS at 3840x2160, a difference of 34.6 FPS. At Ultra settings, the average drops from 122.8 FPS to 83.4 FPS, a difference of 39.4 FPS.

Q: Does the Ultra preset at 1080p outperform the Low preset at 4K?

A: No. The Ultra preset at 1920x1080 averages 122.8 FPS, while the Low preset at 3840x2160 averages 126.9 FPS. The 4K Low configuration is slightly faster in this comparison, though both are far above the playable threshold.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in the database?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254. The closest rivals are the Intel Core i3-10305 at 2264, 0.4 percent higher; the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 at 2259, 0.2 percent higher; the Intel Core i7-10710U at 2248, 0.3 percent lower; and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 at 2246, 0.4 percent lower.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded for this system in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The lowest average frame rate across all tested resolution and settings combinations is 83.4 FPS, recorded at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

The Verdict

The data confirms that this PC can run Lockdown Protocol with substantial headroom at every resolution and preset tested. At 1920x1080, the verdict marks all four presets as playable, with the best setting being Ultra at an average of 122.8 FPS. At 2560x1440, all four presets are again playable, and the best setting is Ultra at 111.4 FPS. At 3840x2160, the same holds true, with Ultra averaging 83.4 FPS. The verdict by resolution explicitly lists High, Low, Medium, and Ultra as playable settings for all three resolutions. No configuration falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The system ranks 1130 out of 3714 combinations in the database for this game, which places it comfortably in the upper portion of tested hardware pairings.

The most demanding scenario, 4K Ultra, still delivers 83.4 FPS on average, leaving 23.4 FPS of headroom above the threshold. The least demanding scenario, 1080p Low, delivers 161.5 FPS, which is more than double the threshold. The data does not include minimum frame rate measurements, so there is no information on potential dips during intense combat or crowded scenes, but the averages are high enough that even a significant transient drop would likely keep the experience smooth. For users with high refresh rate displays, the 1080p and 1440p results at Low and Medium settings exceed 130 FPS, which aligns well with 144 Hz monitors.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data shows how the balance of CPU and GPU workload shifts across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates range from 122.8 FPS at Ultra to 161.5 FPS at Low. At 2560x1440, the same settings range from 111.4 FPS to 149 FPS. At 3840x2160, they range from 83.4 FPS to 126.9 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at each preset reveals the scaling pattern. For Low settings, the drop from 161.5 FPS to 126.9 FPS represents a 21.4 percent reduction. For Medium, the drop from 143.7 FPS to 110.1 FPS is a 23.4 percent reduction. For High, the drop from 134.9 FPS to 106.5 FPS is a 21.1 percent reduction. For Ultra, the drop from 122.8 FPS to 83.4 FPS is a 32.1 percent reduction.

These figures indicate that the Ultra preset at 4K imposes a disproportionately larger load on the GPU compared to the other presets. The wider gap between Low and Ultra at 4K, 43.5 FPS, versus 38.7 FPS at 1080p, shows that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count and shading complexity both increase. The CPU, with its six cores and six threads, is not the limiting factor at any resolution in this game, as even the most demanding GPU configuration, 4K Ultra, still produces an average above 80 FPS.

The RTX 5090's specifications support this interpretation. Its 21760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output pipelines provide massive parallel throughput. The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512 bit bus delivers 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for 4K texture streaming and high detail geometry. The CPU's 9 MB of shared L3 cache and 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth are modest by comparison, but the game's frame rates suggest it does not require more. The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking versus the CPU's 47th percentile ranking makes clear which component carries the heavier load.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 122.8 FPS. This is the best visual configuration available at this resolution, and the frame rate leaves ample room for any future patch or additional on-screen action that might reduce performance. The data lists all four presets as playable at 1080p, so users can choose based on preference rather than necessity.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that remains playable is Ultra, averaging 111.4 FPS. The gap between Ultra and High at this resolution is 12.7 FPS, with High averaging 124.1 FPS, so users who prioritize a higher frame rate over maximum visual fidelity can step down without losing much performance. Medium averages 130.4 FPS and Low averages 149 FPS, both of which are well above the threshold.

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, averaging 83.4 FPS. This is the lowest average frame rate recorded in the entire dataset, but it still exceeds the 60 FPS threshold by 23.4 FPS. High averages 106.5 FPS, Medium averages 110.1 FPS, and Low averages 126.9 FPS. All presets are marked as playable at 4K, so the RTX 5090's 32 GB of memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the highest resolution without forcing a compromise. The recommendation across all three resolutions is the same: Ultra settings provide the best visual experience while maintaining frame rates that comfortably clear the playable threshold.