Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-12400 pairs with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D in Lockdown Protocol, a combination that lands at rank 80 out of 2828 tested setups. This pairing delivers high frame rates across all tested resolutions, though the data reveals a clear pattern where the GPU's immense power is tempered by the CPU's mid-range positioning at lower resolutions. The following analysis breaks down how this specific configuration behaves in the game, based exclusively on the measured performance data.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake family, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It features 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, along with 80 KB of L1 cache per core. This CPU sits at the 72nd percentile among all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 18683, positioning it as a solid mainstream option rather than a high-end contender.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's influence is most visible when examining the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 272 FPS average, which is the highest recorded frame rate across all configurations. However, the fact that this is only 43% higher than the 190 FPS seen at 4K Low suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck even at the lowest resolution. The processor's 3dmark scores — 910 single-thread and 5890 max-threads — indicate balanced performance that can feed the GPU adequately, but the 6-core/12-thread configuration may limit extreme frame rates in heavily threaded scenes.

Comparing to nearest rivals, the i5-12400 sits within 1% of the AMD EPYC 7643 (deltaPct -0.1) and Intel Core i7-1355U (deltaPct -0.3), while being 0.9% ahead of the Intel Core i3-14100F. This tight clustering suggests that Lockdown Protocol is not exceptionally sensitive to CPU differences among these mid-range parts. The CPU's 65W TDP and dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 provide a solid foundation, but the benchmark results indicate that the processor's role is to maintain a consistent baseline rather than push extreme performance ceilings.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Examining the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 4K Medium, the combo delivers 135 FPS average with a minimum of 115 FPS and maximum of 155 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above typical 60 FPS display refresh rates while maintaining visual quality. At 1440p Medium, the average climbs to 209 FPS with a minimum of 178 FPS, and at 1080p Medium, it reaches 239 FPS with a minimum of 204 FPS.

The High preset offers a slight visual upgrade but at a measurable performance cost. At 4K High, the average drops to 118 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 12.6% reduction compared to Medium. At 1440p High, the average falls to 183 FPS, and at 1080p High, it reaches 228 FPS. The Ultra preset shows the most significant performance penalty, dropping to 88 FPS at 4K, 137 FPS at 1440p, and 187 FPS at 1080p.

For competitive play, the Low preset at 1080p delivers the highest frame rates at 272 FPS, but the jump from Low to Medium at 1080p only costs 33 FPS (272 to 239), making Medium the recommended choice for most users. The data suggests that Medium provides the best visual-to-performance ratio, especially considering that the minimum FPS values at Medium are 204 at 1080p, 178 at 1440p, and 115 at 4K — all of which remain above the refresh rate of most standard monitors.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling pattern reveals a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions but hints at CPU limitations at 1080p. Moving from 1080p Low (272 FPS) to 1440p Low (245 FPS) represents a 9.9% drop, while the transition from 1440p Low to 4K Low (190 FPS) shows a 22.4% reduction. This non-linear scaling indicates that the GPU's capabilities are being progressively utilized as resolution increases, with the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth handling the increased pixel load efficiently.

The same pattern holds across all settings. At Medium, the drop from 1080p (239 FPS) to 1440p (209 FPS) is 12.6%, and from 1440p to 4K (135 FPS) is 35.4%. At High, the corresponding drops are 19.7% (228 to 183) and 35.5% (183 to 118). The Ultra preset shows the steepest scaling, with a 26.7% drop from 1080p to 1440p (187 to 137) and a 35.8% drop from 1440p to 4K (137 to 88).

The fact that 1080p Low (272 FPS) is only 43% higher than 4K Low (190 FPS) suggests that the CPU is starting to become a limiting factor at lower resolutions. If the GPU were fully utilized at 1080p, the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K would be much larger, closer to the GPU's theoretical pixel throughput difference. The i5-12400's 3dmark single-thread score of 910 and passmark single-thread score of 3456 indicate capable but not exceptional per-core performance, which likely caps the maximum achievable frame rate in CPU-bound scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves rank 80 out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 2.8% of all configurations. This high rank is primarily driven by the GPU's exceptional performance, as the RTX 5090 D sits at the 92nd percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 77712.

The GPU's nearest rivals help contextualize its performance. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT scores 76904 (1.1% higher), while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78940 (1.6% lower than the 5090 D). The NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants score 79396 and 79605, which are 2.1% and 2.4% lower respectively. This clustering within a 3.5% range suggests that the RTX 5090 D's benchmark scores are competitive but not dominant, yet in Lockdown Protocol specifically, the combo's rank 80 position indicates strong real-world performance.

The CPU's rank contribution is more modest. At the 72nd percentile among CPUs, the i5-12400 is a capable partner that does not bottleneck the GPU excessively, but it also does not boost the combo's position. The deltaPct values against the CPU's nearest rivals (ranging from -0.7% to +0.9%) show that swapping to a similar-tier processor would have minimal impact on the overall ranking, reinforcing that the GPU is the primary driver of this combo's high placement.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, featuring 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. It operates with a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Lockdown Protocol at any resolution.

The GPU's 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. The 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance is leveraged heavily at 4K Ultra, where the combo still manages 88 FPS average. The GPU's 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14326 and passmark G3D score of 44065 indicate strong compute capabilities that translate to high frame rates in this FPS title.

The GPU's 575W TDP and 1x 16-pin power connector with a suggested PSU of 950W indicate a power-hungry component, but the measured FPS data shows that this power translates directly into performance. The fact that 4K High (118 FPS) outperforms 1440p Ultra (137 FPS) by a narrower margin than expected suggests that the GPU is well-utilized at higher resolutions, with the 32 GB VRAM ensuring no memory capacity limitations even at 4K with demanding textures.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 272 FPS, Medium settings reach 239 FPS with a minimum of 204 FPS and maximum of 275 FPS, High settings achieve 228 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 187 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 85 FPS, representing a 31.3% reduction for maximum visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down moderately. Low settings average 245 FPS, Medium settings reach 209 FPS with a minimum of 178 FPS and maximum of 241 FPS, High settings achieve 183 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 137 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 10-15% across all settings, with the Ultra preset showing the largest relative drop at 26.7%.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates remain playable but show the expected resolution penalty. Low settings average 190 FPS, Medium settings reach 135 FPS with a minimum of 115 FPS and maximum of 155 FPS, High settings achieve 118 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 88 FPS. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium (115 FPS) is still above 100, indicating smooth gameplay, but the Ultra preset at 88 FPS may be borderline for high-refresh-rate displays.

The complete dataset shows that the Medium preset consistently provides the best combination of average FPS and minimum FPS stability, with the minimum values at each resolution (204 at 1080p, 178 at 1440p, 115 at 4K) being well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 272, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 245 FPS at 1440p Low, followed by 239 FPS at 1080p Medium.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest rival in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77712. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, scores 76904, which is 1.1% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78940, which is 1.6% lower than the 5090 D.

Q: Is this combo more CPU-bound or GPU-bound in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data indicates the combo is primarily GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The frame rate drops from 272 FPS at 1080p Low to 190 FPS at 4K Low (43% reduction), which is less than the pixel count increase, suggesting CPU limitations at 1080p. At 4K, the GPU becomes the dominant factor.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 4K Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS at 3840x2160 with Medium settings is 115 FPS, with an average of 135 FPS and a maximum of 155 FPS. This provides a comfortable buffer above standard 60 FPS displays.

Q: How does the i5-12400's performance compare to the Intel Core i3-14100F?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18683, while the Intel Core i3-14100F scores 18519. This puts the i5-12400 0.9% ahead of the i3-14100F in average benchmark performance.

Q: What rank does this specific combo achieve among all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 80 out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 2.8% of all configurations tested. This high ranking is largely driven by the GPU's performance, as the CPU sits at the 72nd percentile among all processors.