Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti combination ranks 1426th out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the lower tier of systems tested for this title. This is a pairing of a six-core Coffee Lake CPU with a Turing-based GPU that delivers playable frame rates at 1080p but struggles considerably as resolution increases. The data indicates a system that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while the CPU's modest six-thread configuration becomes a factor only when frame rates climb at lower settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1426 out of 1637 puts it in the 13th percentile of tested configurations, meaning roughly 87% of tested combos deliver higher average performance in Lockdown Protocol. This is a low position, but it reflects the age of both components rather than any fundamental flaw in their pairing. The i5-9400 sits at the 50th percentile among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 2305. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core i3-10305 at 2300 (0.2% ahead) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 at 2299 (0.2% ahead), while the Intel Core i7-8809G is 0.6% ahead at 2319. The GPU fares slightly better, sitting at the 55th percentile among all GPUs with an average score of 13925. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 570X, scores 13871 (0.4% behind), while the NVIDIA Tesla K10 is 0.7% ahead at 14029.

This ranking means the CPU and GPU are well-matched in raw compute terms, but neither is strong enough to push this combo into competitive territory for a demanding FPS title. The data shows the overall position is dragged down by the GPU's limited memory bandwidth and shading power at higher resolutions, while the CPU's single-thread performance is adequate for the game's core logic. For context, the i5-9400's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and single-core score of 1125 indicate a processor that was mid-range at launch and now falls behind modern six-core parts.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 1080p smoothly?

A: Yes, at 1080p with Low settings the combo achieves 123.1 FPS average, and at High settings it maintains 79.1 FPS. Medium settings deliver 86.4 FPS, while Ultra drops to 57.5 FPS. This shows the system is capable of smooth gameplay at 1080p across most settings presets.

Q: What is the best resolution for this pairing?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings presets remain above 57 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low (90.7 FPS) and High (53.6 FPS) keep playable frame rates, while Medium drops to 63.7 FPS and Ultra falls to 42.7 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 Ti compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The GTX 1660 Ti averages 13925 in benchmark scores, which is 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 570X and 0.8% ahead of both the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile and GeForce GTX 680. The NVIDIA Tesla K10 is 0.7% ahead.

Q: Is the i5-9400 a bottleneck for the GTX 1660 Ti?

A: At 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches 123.1 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at high frame rates. However, with 6 cores and 6 threads, the CPU's 2.90 GHz base and 4.10 GHz boost clocks are modest by current standards, so it may limit performance in CPU-intensive scenes.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the combo delivers 58.9 FPS on Low, 45 FPS on Medium, 39.1 FPS on High, and 27.6 FPS on Ultra. Only the Low preset approaches playable frame rates at 4K, and even that is borderline for fast-paced FPS gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance affect the game?

A: The i5-9400's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1125 places it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs. Lockdown Protocol, being an FPS, relies heavily on single-thread performance for game logic, so this score is adequate but not exceptional.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a clear pattern of GPU limitation as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 123.1 FPS, which drops to 90.7 FPS at 1440p (a 26% decrease) and further to 58.9 FPS at 4K (a 52% decrease from 1080p). This scaling is typical for a GPU with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth — the memory subsystem becomes the limiting factor at higher pixel counts.

At High settings, the drop is steeper: 79.1 FPS at 1080p falls to 53.6 FPS at 1440p (32% lower) and 39.1 FPS at 4K (51% lower). The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling, going from 57.5 FPS at 1080p to 42.7 FPS at 1440p (26% lower) and 27.6 FPS at 4K (52% lower). This consistent ~50% reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck, with the CPU's role diminishing as resolution rises.

The fact that 1080p Low yields 123.1 FPS while 4K Low yields 58.9 FPS shows the GPU's raw pixel throughput is the constraint. The GTX 1660 Ti's 5.437 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 84.96 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply insufficient for 4K rendering in this game, even at the lowest settings. The CPU, by contrast, has headroom at lower resolutions — the jump from 79.1 FPS at 1080p High to 123.1 FPS at 1080p Low suggests the processor can handle higher frame rates when the GPU is less stressed.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1080p (1920x1080): The best performance comes at Low settings with 123.1 FPS average. Medium settings deliver 86.4 FPS, High settings produce 79.1 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 57.5 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 65.6 FPS, indicating that settings have a significant impact at this resolution. All presets are playable, with even Ultra staying above 57 FPS.

1440p (2560x1440): Low settings maintain 90.7 FPS, making this the only preset that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. Medium settings produce 63.7 FPS, which is borderline playable. High settings drop to 53.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 42.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 48 FPS, showing that GPU pressure at this resolution compresses the settings range.

4K (3840x2160): Only Low settings approach playability at 58.9 FPS. Medium settings deliver 45 FPS, High settings produce 39.1 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 27.6 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 31.3 FPS, the smallest spread across all resolutions, confirming the GPU is fully saturated. None of the 4K presets deliver a consistent 60 FPS experience.

The data shows that the i5-9400's six cores and six threads are sufficient to keep up with the GTX 1660 Ti at 1080p, but the GPU's limitations become obvious at higher resolutions. The 6 GB memory capacity is also a concern; while it doesn't show explicit capacity issues in these measurements, the 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is clearly inadequate for 4K rendering.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth experience, 1080p Low is the clear winner at 123.1 FPS, but this leaves performance on the table. The sweet spot is 1080p Medium at 86.4 FPS, which offers a balanced visual quality upgrade over Low while maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. If visual fidelity is the priority, 1080p High at 79.1 FPS is still excellent, and even Ultra at 57.5 FPS is playable for most users, though it sits below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1440p, the recommendation changes. Low settings at 90.7 FPS are the only option that provides a high-refresh experience. Medium at 63.7 FPS is acceptable for 60 Hz displays, but High at 53.6 FPS and Ultra at 42.7 FPS will feel sluggish in a fast-paced FPS. Users with 1440p monitors should stick to Low or Medium to maintain responsiveness.

At 4K, only Low at 58.9 FPS is worth considering, and even that is marginal. Medium at 45 FPS and High at 39.1 FPS are too inconsistent for competitive play, while Ultra at 27.6 FPS is unplayable. The data suggests 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo in Lockdown Protocol, regardless of settings.

The benchmark results indicate that the GTX 1660 Ti's 48 ROPs and 96 TMUs are the limiting factors at higher resolutions, while its 1536 shading units provide adequate compute for 1080p. The CPU's role is secondary — the 4.10 GHz boost clock on the i5-9400 is sufficient to drive the GPU at 1080p, but the 6-thread limitation may cause occasional hitches in scenes with heavy AI or physics.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with 9 MB of shared L3 cache and 256 KB of L2 cache per core. This configuration places it at the 50th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2305.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle game logic. The measured frame rates at 1080p Low (123.1 FPS) suggest the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output, but the single-thread performance is modest. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1125 is below many modern processors, which could cause frame pacing issues in CPU-bound scenarios. The multi-core score of 7969 is respectable for a six-thread part, but the lack of hyper-threading means the CPU has no spare threads for background tasks.

The memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s from dual-channel DDR4 is adequate for this game, but it's not a strength. The CPU's PCIe Gen 3 x16 interface matches the GPU's bus interface, so there's no bottleneck there. The integrated UHD 630 graphics are irrelevant for gaming with a discrete GPU, but they do add thermal overhead to the 65 W TDP.

The nearest CPU rivals — the i3-10305 and i3-1125G4 — score nearly identically (2300 and 2299, respectively), which shows the i5-9400 is competitive with newer low-end parts. However, the i7-8809G at 2319 (0.6% ahead) demonstrates that even a slightly better CPU doesn't significantly change the gaming outcome. The GPU remains the dominant factor in this combo's performance, particularly at resolutions above 1080p where the frame rates drop sharply regardless of the CPU's capabilities.