Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 lands at rank 45 out of 1,637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 2.7% of all configurations. This is a high-end pairing that delivers exceptional frame rates, but the data reveals a clear pattern: the RTX 4090 is the dominant component, and the i5-13400F, while competent, is not the reason this combo scores so highly. The combo’s ranking is strong, yet the performance curve across resolutions shows the GPU is doing the heavy lifting, with CPU limitations emerging only at the lowest settings where frame rates are astronomical.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame of 45 out of 1,637 tested combinations is a top-tier result, placing this system in the 97th percentile of all tested hardware pairings for Lockdown Protocol. This ranking is driven almost entirely by the GPU’s raw power; the RTX 4090 sits in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, while the i5-13400F sits in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs. The disparity in percentile rankings (91 vs. 82) is the first clue that the graphics card is the star of this show. In practical terms, this rank means the combo will outclass the vast majority of systems in this game, and the measured FPS data confirms it: even at 4K Ultra, the combination maintains an average of 84.2 FPS, which is playable and smooth. The rank also shows that while the CPU is not a bottleneck at most settings, the gap between the CPU and GPU’s respective performance percentiles suggests that a faster processor could potentially push this combo even higher, though the current results are already outstanding.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the undisputed performance driver in this pairing. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for feeding the 16,384 shading units at high resolutions. The GPU’s base clock is 2,235 MHz, boosting to 2,520 MHz, and these clocks translate into a measured 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. In Lockdown Protocol, this raw power is evident in the scaling of frame rates. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 286.2 FPS, but the GPU is so powerful that it is not the limiting factor at these lower resolutions. The real story is at 4K, where the RTX 4090’s memory bandwidth and compute throughput are fully exercised. The transition from 1080p Ultra (170.8 FPS) to 4K Ultra (84.2 FPS) represents a 50.7% drop in performance, which is a direct result of the GPU’s workload increasing with pixel count. The data shows the RTX 4090 is not just fast; it is consistently fast across all settings, with the Low preset at 4K (176.5 FPS) outperforming Ultra at 1440p (128.9 FPS), highlighting the GPU’s headroom.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data indicates that the High preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance for this combo. At 1080p, High delivers 228 FPS, which is only 20.3% slower than Low (286.2 FPS) but provides a significant visual upgrade. At 1440p, High hits 166.6 FPS, which is still well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of most high-end monitors. Even at 4K, High maintains 105.6 FPS, which is smooth for a fast-paced FPS. The Ultra preset, while visually superior, comes at a steep cost: at 4K, it drops to 84.2 FPS, which is a 20.2% decrease from High. For competitive play, the Low preset is the obvious choice, offering the highest possible frame rates, but for a balanced experience, High is the sweet spot. The Medium preset is a middle ground, delivering 253.2 FPS at 1080p and 121.7 FPS at 4K, but it does not offer enough of a performance advantage over High to justify the visual downgrade. The data clearly shows that High is the recommended preset for most users, as it provides near-Ultra visuals with a substantial FPS buffer.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers exceptional results across all settings. Low produces 286.2 FPS, Medium drops to 253.2 FPS, High is at 228 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 170.8 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 40.3% reduction, which is substantial but still leaves the system with more than enough headroom for high-refresh-rate gaming. Moving to 1440p, the frame rates remain high but show a clear step down. Low is 255.3 FPS, Medium is 193.4 FPS, High is 166.6 FPS, and Ultra is 128.9 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 49.5%, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a factor. At 4K, the performance is still strong but the GPU’s workload becomes the dominant constraint. Low hits 176.5 FPS, Medium drops to 121.7 FPS, High is at 105.6 FPS, and Ultra is at 84.2 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 52.3%, the largest percentage gap of any resolution. This data paints a clear picture: the system is capable of 4K gaming, but the settings need to be managed to maintain high frame rates. The 1080p and 1440p results show that the combo is overkill for these resolutions, with even Ultra settings producing triple-digit FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is a critical indicator of where the bottleneck lies in this system. At High settings, the FPS falls from 228 at 1080p to 166.6 at 1440p, a 26.9% reduction, and then to 105.6 at 4K, a 53.7% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline is a classic sign of a GPU-bound workload. The RTX 4090 is being pushed harder as resolution increases, and the frame rate scales accordingly. However, the Low settings tell a different story. At Low, the FPS drops from 286.2 at 1080p to 255.3 at 1440p (10.8% reduction) and then to 176.5 at 4K (38.3% reduction from 1080p). The smaller drop at 1440p Low suggests that the CPU is starting to limit performance at lower resolutions and settings. The i5-13400F, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, is a capable processor, but it cannot keep up with the RTX 4090’s raw output at 1080p Low, where the GPU is waiting on the CPU to feed it data. This is a classic CPU bottleneck scenario, and it is the only time in the data where the processor is the limiting factor. At 4K, the GPU is always the bottleneck, as the frame rates are high but the scaling is consistent with GPU load.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F plays a supporting but essential role in this combo. With 10 cores (6 performance and 4 efficiency) and 16 threads, it provides enough parallel processing power to avoid being a major bottleneck in most scenarios. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.60 GHz, combined with 20 MB of shared L3 cache, deliver strong single-thread and multi-thread performance. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 21,279 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3,004 in single-core, which places it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs. However, the data from Lockdown Protocol shows that the CPU’s limits are reached at 1080p Low, where the frame rate of 286.2 FPS is likely capped by the processor’s ability to submit draw calls. The CPU’s 3DMark 16-thread score of 7,314 is respectable, but it is not enough to fully saturate the RTX 4090 at lower resolutions. In contrast, at 4K Ultra, the CPU has ample headroom, and the GPU is the clear limiting factor. The CPU’s role is therefore to keep up with the GPU at high frame rates, and it does so admirably up to a point, but the data shows that a more powerful CPU would extract even higher FPS at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo overkill for 1080p gaming in Lockdown Protocol?

A: Yes. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 286.2 FPS, and even at 1080p Ultra, it maintains 170.8 FPS. These frame rates far exceed the refresh rates of most 1080p monitors, indicating that the GPU is not being fully utilized at this resolution.

Q: What is the best resolution to play this game with this combo?

A: The data shows that 1440p High (166.6 FPS) or 4K High (105.6 FPS) are both excellent choices. The combo is powerful enough to handle 4K, but 1440p provides a higher frame rate buffer for competitive play.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: Yes, but only at 1080p Low. The frame rate of 286.2 FPS at 1080p Low is significantly lower than what the RTX 4090 is capable of, indicating a CPU limitation. At higher resolutions and settings, the GPU is the bottleneck.

Q: How much performance is lost going from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 170.8 at 1080p Ultra to 84.2 at 4K Ultra, a 50.7% reduction. This is a substantial drop, but the 4K result is still playable.

Q: What is the difference between High and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 4K, High settings produce 105.6 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 84.2 FPS. The difference is 21.4 FPS, or a 20.2% performance penalty for the Ultra preset.

Q: Is the RTX 4090’s 24 GB of VRAM necessary for this game?

A: The data does not show any VRAM limitations, as the game runs smoothly at all settings. The 24 GB capacity is more than sufficient for Lockdown Protocol’s requirements, but it provides headroom for future titles.