Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread desktop processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 14 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, which are the figures that define its compute ceiling in Lockdown Protocol. The CPU’s 9 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s) provide adequate data throughput for a game of this type. In synthetic testing, the chip scores 7,969 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,125 in single-core; its average benchmark score sits at 2,305, placing it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs. That percentile position is telling: the i5-9400 is a squarely mid-pack processor, and its nearest rivals reflect that status. It sits a mere 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i3-10305 (score 2,300) and 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (score 2,299), while trailing the Intel Core i7-8809G by just 0.6% (score 2,319). The Xeon E-2134 is 0.4% behind at 2,295. These sub-1% deltas mean the CPU is essentially interchangeable with its closest competitors in raw compute, so any meaningful performance differences in Lockdown Protocol will stem from how the game loads those six threads.

The chip’s six cores and six threads—with no hyper-threading—mean that heavily threaded workloads can saturate it quickly, but Lockdown Protocol’s frame rate results suggest the game does not crush the processor. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 162.8 FPS, which is a clear indicator that the CPU can feed the GPU at high rates when graphical load is minimal. The boost clock of 4.10 GHz provides the single-thread grunt needed for game logic and draw calls, and the 50th percentile standing is not a bottleneck in this title. The data shows that the i5-9400, while old enough to be end-of-life and released in 2018, remains capable of sustaining high frame rates in this FPS, provided the resolution and settings do not push the GPU into a position where it can no longer keep up. The 803-point Cinebench R15 multi-core score and 113-point single-core score reinforce that this is a modest but functional part, and the 65 W TDP suggests it runs within a standard thermal envelope.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications dictate where the combo excels. Built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip on a 6 nm process from TSMC, the card packs 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units. It carries 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. Clock speeds are set to a base of 1720 MHz, a game clock of 2250 MHz, and a boost of 2655 MHz, with memory running at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). These figures translate to a pixel rate of 169.9 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 339.8 GTexel/s, with FP32 compute rated at 21.75 TFLOPS. The card’s 32 ray accelerators provide hardware ray tracing support, though the game’s settings do not appear to leverage that feature in the measured data. The RX 7600 sits in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20,258.

The GPU’s nearest rivals show how tightly contested this segment is. The RX 7600 XT leads the base card by just 0.6% (score 20,146), and the Radeon RX 460 is 0.8% ahead (score 20,088). On the flip side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile is 1.3% faster (score 20,534), and the Intel Arc B570 is 1.5% faster (score 20,556). These deltas are minuscule, meaning the RX 7600 is squarely in the middle of its performance tier. In Lockdown Protocol, that translates to strong 1080p performance and playable 1440p, but 4K is a stretch. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, as the frame rate drops precipitously when moving from 1440p to 2160p. The card’s 165 W TDP and single 8-pin power connector are modest, and the suggested 450 W PSU is standard for this class. It supports PCIe 4.0 x8, which is sufficient bandwidth for the game’s data demands.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU limitation as resolution climbs. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 98.4 FPS, which rises to 111.6 FPS at Medium and 162.8 FPS at Low, while Ultra drops to 72.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the same settings show a predictable decline: High falls to 73.9 FPS, Medium to 83.8 FPS, Low to 115.8 FPS, and Ultra to 54.6 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at High settings is roughly 25% (98.4 to 73.9 FPS), which indicates the GPU is becoming the limiting factor, though the CPU still has headroom. At 4K, the picture changes dramatically. High settings yield just 46.4 FPS, Medium drops to 55.3 FPS, Low manages 78.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 37.4 FPS. The scaling from 1440p High to 4K High is a 37% reduction (73.9 to 46.4 FPS), and from 1080p High to 4K High is a 53% reduction (98.4 to 46.4 FPS).

This scaling behavior is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. The i5-9400’s 162.8 FPS at 1080p Low proves the CPU can push well beyond 100 FPS, but the RX 7600’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus struggle to feed the framebuffer at 4K. The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases: at 1080p, the spread is 89.9 FPS (162.8 vs 72.9), at 1440p it is 61.2 FPS (115.8 vs 54.6), and at 4K it shrinks to 40.7 FPS (78.1 vs 37.4). The narrowing spread at 4K indicates that even Low settings cannot overcome the memory bandwidth and fill-rate limits, making the GPU the definitive bottleneck. Benchmark results suggest that users targeting 4K should expect sub-60 FPS unless they drop to Low settings, where 78.1 FPS is achievable. For 1440p gaming, the combo is viable across all settings, with Ultra staying above 54 FPS. At 1080p, the pairing is excellent, with every setting except Ultra exceeding 98 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 ranks 1,146 out of 1,637 combos. That places it in the lower third of all tested configurations, which is a surprising result given the GPU’s 63rd percentile standing. The rank reflects the CPU’s 50th percentile position dragging down the overall score, as the RX 7600 is clearly the stronger component. The combo’s position suggests that many other pairings—likely those with newer or higher-tier processors—outperform it despite similar GPUs. The data shows that the i5-9400’s age (released in 2018) and end-of-life status limit its ability to compete with modern CPUs, even though it does not bottleneck the GPU at lower resolutions.

The rank of 1,146 out of 1,637 means that roughly 70% of tested combos deliver better or equal performance in this game. This is not a verdict on playability—the measured FPS at 1080p and 1440p is solid—but it does indicate that users with this combo are leaving performance on the table compared to what the RX 7600 could achieve with a stronger CPU. The nearest CPU rivals, such as the i3-10305 and Xeon E-2134, are all within 0.6% of the i5-9400’s average score, so swapping to any of those would not meaningfully change the ranking. The bottleneck is the CPU’s six-thread limit, which becomes more apparent in games that utilize more than six threads. In Lockdown Protocol, the combo’s rank is a reflection of the CPU’s mid-pack compute capability rather than a failure of the GPU, which is performing near its expected level based on its percentile.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers its best results. With Low settings, the average frame rate is 162.8 FPS, which is the highest recorded across all resolutions and settings. Medium settings produce 111.6 FPS, High settings yield 98.4 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 72.9 FPS. The 89.9 FPS gap between Low and Ultra is substantial, indicating that the GPU’s shading and memory resources are taxed heavily by Ultra’s effects. All of these figures are above 60 FPS, so 1080p gaming is smooth across the board. The 162.8 FPS Low result is particularly telling, as it demonstrates the CPU can drive high refresh rates when the GPU is not overloaded.

Moving to 1440p, the frame rates remain playable but show the GPU starting to strain. Low settings achieve 115.8 FPS, which is still excellent, but Medium falls to 83.8 FPS and High to 73.9 FPS. Ultra is the only setting that dips below 60 FPS, with 54.6 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 61.2 FPS, a smaller spread than at 1080p, which suggests the GPU is becoming the limiting factor. The 54.6 FPS Ultra result is borderline for competitive play, but High at 73.9 FPS provides a good balance for most users. At 4K, the combo struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low settings yield 78.1 FPS, which is the only 4K result above 60 FPS. Medium drops to 55.3 FPS, High to 46.4 FPS, and Ultra to 37.4 FPS. The 40.7 FPS spread between Low and Ultra is the smallest of any resolution, confirming that the GPU is saturated even at Low settings. The 37.4 FPS Ultra result is not playable for a fast-paced FPS, and the 46.4 FPS High result is marginal. The data shows that 4K is only viable with Low settings, while 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, offering high refresh rates at Medium and High and a playable 54.6 FPS at Ultra.