Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 combination delivers a playable but demanding experience in Lockdown Protocol, with performance heavily dictated by resolution and quality settings. The data shows a system that is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet the CPU’s six-thread limit becomes a factor at lower settings where frame rates climb. This pairing ranks in the lower half of tested configurations, placing it as a mid-range contender for this specific FPS title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a clear and consistent pattern: as resolution increases, average FPS drops in a predictable, nearly linear fashion across all settings. At 1080p High, the combo produces 81.1 FPS, which falls to 57.7 FPS at 1440p High—a reduction of 23.4 FPS. Moving further to 4K High, the average drops to 36.4 FPS, representing a 44.7 FPS decline from the 1080p baseline. This scaling indicates a GPU-bound scenario; the GTX 1070’s rendering throughput is the limiting factor as pixel count rises.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the spread between Low (127.9 FPS) and Ultra (63.6 FPS) is 64.3 FPS. At 4K, that same spread narrows to 33.2 FPS, with Low at 64.8 FPS and Ultra at 31.6 FPS. This compression suggests that at 4K, the GPU is saturated even at Low settings, leaving little headroom for quality improvements without substantial frame rate penalties. The 4K Ultra result of 31.6 FPS is barely above a playable threshold, while 4K Low at 64.8 FPS shows the GPU can still push decent numbers when the workload is lightened.

At 1440p, the figures sit in a comfortable middle ground. Low settings achieve 98.3 FPS, while Medium and High deliver 66.5 and 57.7 FPS respectively. The 1440p Ultra result of 42.4 FPS is lower than the 1080p Medium score of 95.4 FPS, highlighting that resolution has a more pronounced impact than settings on this hardware. The scaling data points to a system that excels at 1080p, performs adequately at 1440p with tuned settings, and struggles to maintain high refresh rates at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank for Lockdown Protocol places this configuration at 1386 out of 1637 tested combinations. This percentile position, roughly in the 15th percentile from the bottom, indicates that the i5-9400 and GTX 1070 pairing is below average for this game. The CPU’s benchmark percentile stands at 50, meaning it sits exactly in the middle of all tested processors. The GPU’s percentile is 51, marginally above the median for all graphics cards. Despite both components hovering near the 50th percentile individually, their combined performance in Lockdown Protocol ranks poorly due to the game’s specific demands.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks show how close the i5-9400 is to its peers. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2300, just 0.2% higher than the i5-9400’s 2305 average. The Intel Core i3-1125G4 matches at 2299, also a 0.2% delta. The Intel Xeon E-2134 trails by 0.4% with a score of 2295. On the other side, the Intel Core i7-8809G leads by 0.6% at 2319. These margins are negligible, meaning the CPU’s raw compute capability is well within the expected range for its class.

For the GPU, the GTX 1070’s nearest rivals paint a similar picture of tight competition. The NVIDIA Quadro K4200 scores 12241, which is 0.7% lower than the GTX 1070’s 12331 average. The GeForce GTX 880M and GTX 1650 SUPER both outperform it by 1.3% and 1.4% respectively, with scores of 12490 and 12504. The Tesla K20Xm leads by 1.7% at 12547. These deltas are small, yet in Lockdown Protocol, the combined rank of 1386 out of 1637 suggests that the game’s optimization favors other hardware configurations, possibly those with higher thread counts or newer GPU architectures.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p is the only resolution where all settings remain above 60 FPS. Low achieves 127.9 FPS, Medium 95.4 FPS, High 81.1 FPS, and Ultra 63.6 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (98.3 FPS) and Medium (66.5 FPS) exceed 60 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1070’s average benchmark score is 12331, placing it 0.7% ahead of the Quadro K4200 (12241) and 1.3% behind the GTX 880M (12490). It also trails the GTX 1650 SUPER by 1.4% and the Tesla K20Xm by 1.7%.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 4K Ultra?

A: The 4K Ultra result of 31.6 FPS, combined with the 4K Low score of 64.8 FPS, indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The consistent frame rate progression across settings at 4K shows the GTX 1070’s rendering limits are reached before the i5-9400’s six threads become a constraint.

Q: What settings should be used for a 1440p monitor?

A: The data shows Medium settings at 66.5 FPS is the highest quality option above 60 FPS at 1440p. High drops to 57.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 42.4 FPS. Low achieves 98.3 FPS but sacrifices visual fidelity.

Q: How does the i5-9400’s multi-core performance compare to its rivals?

A: The i5-9400 scores 2305 in the average benchmark, which is 0.2% higher than the i3-10305 (2300) and i3-1125G4 (2299). It is 0.4% ahead of the Xeon E-2134 (2295) but 0.6% behind the i7-8809G (2319).

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Lockdown Protocol?

A: Technically yes, but only at Low settings (64.8 FPS). Medium drops to 44.7 FPS, High to 36.4 FPS, and Ultra to 31.6 FPS. The 4K experience is playable only with significant quality reductions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full benchmark suite for Lockdown Protocol provides exact figures across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the combo performs strongest. Low settings yield an average of 127.9 FPS, which is the highest recorded frame rate for this configuration. Medium produces 95.4 FPS, High 81.1 FPS, and Ultra 63.6 FPS. All 1080p results exceed the 60 FPS threshold, making this resolution the only one where every preset is viable for smooth gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers show a noticeable drop. Low remains strong at 98.3 FPS, but Medium falls to 66.5 FPS, just above the 60 FPS mark. High drops to 57.7 FPS, and Ultra dips to 42.4 FPS. The 1440p results indicate that users must choose between frame rate and visual quality, with Medium being the balanced option. The High and Ultra presets will require a tolerance for sub-60 FPS performance.

At 3840x2160, the GTX 1070’s limits become apparent. Low settings achieve 64.8 FPS, which is surprising given the pixel count, but Medium drops to 44.7 FPS. High falls to 36.4 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 31.6 FPS. The 4K data strongly suggests that this GPU is not designed for high-fidelity gaming at this resolution, with only the lowest preset reaching a playable average. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K—64.8, 44.7, 36.4, 31.6—shows a diminishing return curve where each settings tier costs roughly 8-13 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the central component in determining Lockdown Protocol’s performance. Its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the game’s textures at 1080p and 1440p. The memory clock runs at 2002 MHz, translating to 8 Gbps effective, and the card’s 1920 shading units handle the rasterization workload. The GPU’s base clock of 1506 MHz and boost clock of 1683 MHz are modest by today’s standards, but the Pascal architecture’s efficiency allows it to maintain competitive frame rates.

The GPU’s synthetic benchmark scores reinforce its mid-range positioning. It achieves a Passmark G3D score of 13498 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 47490. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result of 1082 is indicative of its DirectX 12 capabilities, which the game leverages. The GPU’s 51st percentile ranking among all graphics cards means it sits just above the median, yet in Lockdown Protocol, this translates to a combo rank of 1386 out of 1637. This discrepancy suggests the game’s engine is more sensitive to raw shader throughput than the GTX 1070 can provide at higher settings.

The GPU’s texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s are the theoretical limits that explain the FPS scaling. At 4K Ultra, the 31.6 FPS average is close to what these rates would predict given the pixel count. The 150 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU indicate this card runs within a reasonable power envelope, but that does not translate to headroom for demanding titles. The GTX 1070’s FP32 performance of 6.463 TFLOPS is the raw compute figure that ultimately caps the frame rates seen in the measured data.