Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i5-12400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 75th out of 2,828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 2.7% of all configurations measured for this FPS title. This combination of a 6-core, 12-thread Alder Lake processor with NVIDIA's flagship Blackwell 2.0 GPU produces frame rates that range from 88 FPS at 4K Ultra to 274 FPS at 1080p Low, with the data indicating a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but increasingly CPU-limited as resolution drops. The measured results show a consistent pattern across all settings tiers, where the RTX 5090 D's massive compute resources — including 21,760 shading units and 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus — are the dominant factor in determining performance headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's 75th-place finish out of 2,828 tested configurations places it firmly in the upper echelon of Lockdown Protocol systems. This ranking reflects the extraordinary GPU performance of the RTX 5090 D, which sits in the 92nd percentile of all graphics cards tested on this platform, versus the CPU's 73rd percentile ranking among all processors. The gap between GPU and CPU percentile rankings is telling: the RTX 5090 D is a top-tier part by any measure, while the i5-12400F is a solid mid-range processor that nevertheless trails the very fastest CPUs available.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 19,039 places it in a tight cluster of rivals. The AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS scores 19,047, a delta of 0% — effectively identical performance. The Intel Core 3 201E scores 19,056, just 0.1% higher. The Intel Core i5-1335U and AMD EPYC 7773X both score 18,982 and 18,979 respectively, putting them 0.3% behind. This clustering indicates that the i5-12400F's compute capabilities are squarely in the mainstream range, with no rival in its immediate vicinity providing a meaningful performance gap in either direction.

For the GPU, the situation is markedly different at first glance. The RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score of 77,712 places it near the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904, a 1.1% deficit) and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940, a 1.6% advantage). However, these rival GPUs are mobile parts, and the raw benchmark scores obscure the architectural gulf between them. The RTX 5090 D's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs — versus the RX 6650M XT's substantially lower standing — demonstrates that the desktop flagship is in a different performance class entirely. The 1.1% and 1.6% deltas in average score are artifacts of the benchmark suite's weighting, not representative of gaming performance in Lockdown Protocol.

FAQ

Q: What is the best 1080p setting for this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 187 FPS average, which is already far above the refresh rate of most monitors. The Low preset achieves 274 FPS, High reaches 230 FPS, and Medium sits at 241 FPS. Given that even Ultra provides 187 FPS, there is no practical reason to drop below High settings at this resolution unless targeting 240 Hz or higher refresh rate displays.

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

A: At High settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 47 FPS (230 to 183 FPS, a 20.4% reduction). At Low settings, the drop is 27 FPS (274 to 247 FPS, a 9.9% reduction). At Medium, the drop is 32 FPS (241 to 209 FPS, a 13.3% reduction), and at Ultra, the drop is 50 FPS (187 to 137 FPS, a 26.7% reduction).

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming in Lockdown Protocol?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 3840x2160, the High preset averages 118 FPS and Medium averages 135 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 88 FPS, which is still playable but below the 90 FPS threshold that many competitive FPS players prefer. The Low preset reaches 190 FPS, indicating that the GPU has substantial headroom even at 4K.

Q: Which component is the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the performance scaling suggests the CPU becomes the limiting factor. The i5-12400F's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, cap frame rates in the 187-274 FPS range depending on settings. The RTX 5090 D is capable of far higher output, as evidenced by its 4K results, but at 1080p the CPU's single-thread and multi-thread throughput constrains maximum FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of VRAM affect Lockdown Protocol performance?

A: The 32 GB GDDR7 memory pool with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures that VRAM capacity and bandwidth are never limiting factors at any resolution or settings combination tested. Even at 4K Ultra, which typically stresses memory subsystems, the measured 88 FPS average is constrained by compute throughput rather than memory limitations.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at Medium settings?

A: The only settings tier with min/max FPS data is Medium. At 1080p Medium, the range spans 205 to 278 FPS around a 241 FPS average, indicating a 73 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range is 178 to 241 FPS around a 209 FPS average, a 63 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range narrows to 115 to 155 FPS around a 135 FPS average, a 40 FPS spread.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data reveals a system whose bottleneck shifts dramatically depending on output resolution. At 4K, the RTX 5090 D is clearly the primary constraint. Moving from 1080p High (230 FPS) to 4K High (118 FPS) represents a 48.7% performance reduction. This steep drop is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where pixel throughput — the RTX 5090 D's 423.6 GPixel/s pixel rate and 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate — determines the ceiling.

At Low settings, the scaling pattern changes. From 1080p Low (274 FPS) to 4K Low (190 FPS), the reduction is 30.7%. This smaller percentage drop indicates that at Low settings, the CPU begins to assert influence even at 4K. The i5-12400F's 2.50 GHz base clock and 4.40 GHz boost clock, combined with its 18 MB shared L3 cache, sustain frame rates that the GPU can still exceed at lower resolutions, but the gap narrows as resolution drops.

The most revealing data point comes from comparing Medium and Ultra scaling. At Medium, 1080p to 4K drops 44.0% (241 to 135 FPS). At Ultra, the same resolution change drops 52.9% (187 to 88 FPS). The larger percentage drop at Ultra settings confirms that higher graphics presets amplify GPU workload disproportionately, making the RTX 5090 D the clear limiting factor at 4K Ultra. The 88 FPS result at 4K Ultra — despite the GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 compute — suggests that Lockdown Protocol's Ultra preset includes effects that stress specific GPU subsystems heavily.

Settings Recommendations

For competitive play at 1080p, the Low preset's 274 FPS average provides maximum frame throughput, though the High preset's 230 FPS is likely sufficient for even the most demanding esports displays. The Medium preset at 1080p offers 241 FPS with better visual fidelity and shows a 73 FPS min-to-max range (205-278), indicating some frame pacing variability. The Ultra preset at 1080p still delivers 187 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of most standard monitors, making it a viable choice for players prioritizing image quality over raw frame rate.

At 1440p, the High preset strikes the best balance with 183 FPS average. The Medium preset at 209 FPS provides additional headroom with a 63 FPS range (178-241), while Low at 247 FPS maximizes responsiveness. The Ultra preset at 137 FPS remains playable but approaches the threshold where frame drops become noticeable in fast-paced FPS gameplay. For 1440p displays with 144 Hz refresh rates, High settings are recommended; for 165 Hz or 240 Hz displays, Medium or Low provides the necessary FPS cushion.

At 4K, the situation inverts. The Medium preset's 135 FPS average with a tight 40 FPS range (115-155) offers the best combination of visual quality and smoothness. High at 118 FPS is acceptable for 60 Hz displays but marginal for 120 Hz panels. The Ultra preset's 88 FPS average is below the threshold for high-refresh 4K monitors. The Low preset at 190 FPS demonstrates that the RTX 5090 D can drive 4K at high frame rates when visual complexity is reduced, making it the choice for players with 144 Hz 4K displays who prioritize competitive performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear hierarchy across settings. Low settings produce the highest average at 274 FPS. Medium settings follow at 241 FPS, with a minimum of 205 FPS and maximum of 278 FPS. High settings average 230 FPS. Ultra settings produce 187 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 87 FPS, representing a 31.8% reduction from the Low baseline.

At 2560x1440, the same settings ordering persists with lower absolute values. Low averages 247 FPS. Medium averages 209 FPS, with a range of 178 to 241 FPS. High averages 183 FPS. Ultra averages 137 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread is 110 FPS, a 44.5% reduction. Notably, the 1440p Low result of 247 FPS exceeds the 1080p Ultra result of 187 FPS, illustrating how settings tier can matter more than resolution in determining final performance.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope compresses significantly. Low averages 190 FPS. Medium averages 135 FPS, with a range of 115 to 155 FPS. High averages 118 FPS. Ultra averages 88 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread narrows to 102 FPS, but the percentage reduction grows to 53.7%, confirming that Ultra settings at 4K place an exceptional load on the GPU. The 4K Low result of 190 FPS is particularly notable — it exceeds the 1440p Ultra result of 137 FPS and the 1080p Ultra result of 187 FPS, demonstrating that resolution scaling at Low settings is far gentler than at higher presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F brings 6 physical cores and 12 threads to this configuration, built on Intel's 10 nm Alder Lake-S architecture. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz boosts to 4.40 GHz, providing the single-thread performance that FPS games typically require. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory through a dual-channel interface, with PCIe Gen 5 providing 20 lanes from the CPU.

Benchmark data shows the i5-12400F's capabilities. In Cinebench R23, it scores 12,380 multi-core and 1,680 single-core. Geekbench results show 9,472 multi-core and 1,964 single-core. PassMark multi-thread scores 19,433, while single-thread scores 3,481. These figures place the CPU in the 73rd percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 19,039. The 3DMark results — 5,895 at 16 threads, 5,912 at max threads, and 909 single-thread — indicate that the CPU's multi-threaded scaling is modest, with only a 0.3% improvement from 16 threads to max threads.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role becomes evident in the 1080p results. At 1080p Low, the 274 FPS average is likely near the CPU's practical ceiling for this game engine. The fact that 1080p Ultra (187 FPS) is lower than 4K Low (190 FPS) suggests that the CPU can maintain its frame output even at higher resolutions, but the GPU's workload at Ultra settings creates a bottleneck that limits FPS regardless of resolution. The 1080p Medium range of 205-278 FPS further illustrates CPU involvement — the 73 FPS spread indicates that frame delivery varies based on scene complexity, a characteristic of CPU-bound scenarios where thread scheduling and cache behavior influence frame times.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing. Built on the GB202 chip using TSMC's 5 nm process, it packs 92,200 million transistors into a 750 mm² die. The GPU features 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, 176 raster output units, 170 RT cores, and 680 tensor cores. Its clock speeds are 2,017 MHz base and 2,407 MHz boost, delivering 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture fill rate.

The memory subsystem is equally imposing: 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 77,712, confirms its position near the top of the performance hierarchy. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 14,326. Geekbench results show 310,674 in OpenCL and 376,915 in Vulkan. PassMark G3D scores 44,065, with GPU compute at 28,396.

In Lockdown Protocol, the RTX 5090 D's performance profile is best understood through the 4K results. At 4K Medium, the 135 FPS average with a narrow 115-155 FPS range indicates consistent frame delivery under substantial GPU load. The 4K Ultra result of 88 FPS — despite the GPU's massive compute resources — suggests that Lockdown Protocol's Ultra preset includes features that are not purely compute-bound. The pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s are theoretically sufficient for far higher frame rates at 4K, indicating that other GPU subsystems (possibly RT cores or specific shader workloads) are the limiting factor at Ultra settings.

The GPU's 575 W TDP and 950 W suggested PSU requirement reflect its power appetite, but the measured FPS data shows that this power translates directly into performance. At 1080p Low, the GPU could likely deliver far more than 274 FPS if the CPU allowed it — the CPU's 73rd percentile ranking versus the GPU's 92nd percentile creates a 19-percentage-point gap that manifests as CPU limitation at lower resolutions. At 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and its performance scaling from Low to Ultra (190 to 88 FPS, a 53.7% reduction) demonstrates the full weight of the Ultra preset's GPU demands.