Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i5-9400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti delivers a fundamentally GPU-bound experience in Lockdown Protocol across most tested configurations, though the six-core, six-thread CPU reveals its limitations at lower settings and resolutions. This combination ranks 1322nd out of 3714 tested combos, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database. The RTX 3080 Ti, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 912.4 GB/s bandwidth, consistently provides sufficient headroom, while the i5-9400's 2.90 GHz base and 4.10 GHz boost clocks become the constraining factor only when graphical load is reduced.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern: as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, average frame rates decline across all four settings presets. At High settings, the drop from 137 FPS at 1080p to 118 FPS at 1440p represents a 13.9% reduction, while moving to 4K yields 76 FPS—a 44.5% decline from the 1080p baseline. This substantial scaling indicates the GPU becomes progressively more dominant at higher resolutions, which is expected given the RTX 3080 Ti's 34.10 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability.

The Low settings row tells a different story. At 1080p, Low produces 163 FPS, which only falls to 147 FPS at 1440p (a 9.8% drop) and 122 FPS at 4K (a 25.2% drop). The relatively modest scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings suggests the CPU is beginning to limit performance—the i5-9400's six cores and six threads, without Hyper-Threading, cannot feed the GPU fast enough when the graphics workload is light. The gap between High and Low at 1080p is only 26 FPS (163 vs 137), whereas at 4K the same comparison shows a 46 FPS difference (122 vs 76), confirming that resolution scaling amplifies GPU-bound behavior.

Medium settings exhibit the most consistent frame-time behavior, with min FPS values recorded at every resolution: 122 FPS minimum at 1080p, 110 FPS at 1440p, and 74 FPS at 4K. The average FPS at Medium follows the expected curve: 144 at 1080p, 129 at 1440p, and 87 at 4K. Ultra settings show the steepest degradation, dropping from 120 FPS at 1080p to 88 FPS at 1440p and finally 57 FPS at 4K—a 52.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K. This steep Ultra scaling indicates the RTX 3080 Ti is being pushed to its limits at 4K Ultra, where the 57 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS threshold commonly associated with smooth gameplay.

GPU Role

The RTX 3080 Ti's 12 GB GDDR6X memory operates at 19 Gbps effective across a 384-bit bus, yielding 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is well-suited to Lockdown Protocol's demands, as the data shows no evidence of VRAM-related throttling even at 4K Ultra where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The GPU's boost clock of 1665 MHz, combined with 10240 shading units and 112 ROPs, produces a pixel rate of 186.5 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 532.8 GTexel/s—figures that explain the strong 4K performance at High settings (76 FPS) despite the demanding resolution.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 83% versus all GPUs places it well above average, though its nearest rivals in the benchmark database—the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (0.8% faster), NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB (1.2% slower), and NVIDIA Tesla M40 (1.7% slower)—suggest the RTX 3080 Ti's average benchmark score of 41187 is closely clustered. The RTX 5070, at 2% faster, represents the closest modern comparison. In Lockdown Protocol specifically, the GPU's 12 GB memory capacity proves adequate: the frame rate gaps between 1440p and 4K at the same settings (e.g., 118 to 76 FPS at High) are consistent with compute-bound scaling rather than memory capacity limitations.

At 4K Ultra, the 57 FPS average represents the only tested configuration where the RTX 3080 Ti fails to deliver a smooth experience. The GPU's 350 W TDP and 750 W suggested PSU indicate it is a high-power part, but in this game, the limiting factor at Ultra is the raw shader workload rather than power or thermal constraints. The 83rd percentile GPU ranking combined with the 47th percentile CPU ranking explains the system's overall position: the GPU carries the load, but the CPU prevents the combo from reaching the top ranks.

FAQ

Q: Why does the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings shrink as resolution decreases?

A: At 1920x1080, Low delivers 163 FPS while Ultra produces 120 FPS—a 43 FPS gap. At 3840x2160, the same comparison yields 122 FPS versus 57 FPS—a 65 FPS gap. This widening at higher resolutions confirms the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck at 4K, while at 1080p the CPU's six cores partially limit even Low settings, compressing the performance spread.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 holding back the RTX 3080 Ti in this game?

A: Benchmark data suggests yes, but only in specific scenarios. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 163 FPS—likely near the CPU's maximum frame output. The fact that High settings at 1080p only drop to 137 FPS (a 16% reduction) while 4K High drops to 76 FPS (a 53% reduction from 1080p High) indicates the CPU limits low-resolution performance, while the GPU becomes the clear constraint at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60+ FPS at all settings?

A: At 2560x1440, all four settings exceed 60 FPS: Low at 147, Medium at 129, High at 118, and Ultra at 88. At 3840x2160, only Low (122 FPS), Medium (87 FPS), and High (76 FPS) stay above 60, while Ultra drops to 57 FPS. Therefore, 1440p is the highest resolution where every preset remains playable.

Q: Does the RTX 3080 Ti's 12 GB VRAM cause any issues in Lockdown Protocol?

A: No. The measured FPS data shows smooth scaling from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings (144 to 129 to 87 FPS) with no sudden drops that would indicate VRAM swapping. The 912.4 GB/s memory bandwidth and 12 GB capacity are sufficient for this game's demands at all tested configurations.

Q: How does the i5-9400 compare to its nearest CPU rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The i5-9400's average benchmark score of 2254 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals: the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (-0.2%), Intel Core i7-10710U (+0.3%), AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (+0.4%), and Intel Core i3-10305 (-0.4%). This tight clustering indicates the i5-9400 performs exactly as expected for its class, with no significant outlier behavior.

Q: What causes the 4K Ultra result to drop below 60 FPS?

A: The 57 FPS average at 3840x2160 Ultra represents the heaviest tested workload. The RTX 3080 Ti's 34.10 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is insufficient for this combination of resolution and preset, while the 80 RT cores and 320 Tensor Cores cannot compensate. The CPU's role is minimal here, as the 4K Ultra frame rate is only 14 FPS lower than 4K High (57 vs 76), showing GPU-bound scaling.

Settings Recommendations

For players prioritizing consistent frame rates above 144 FPS, the 1920x1080 Low preset delivers 163 FPS average, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. However, this configuration likely underutilizes the RTX 3080 Ti. The Medium preset at 1080p provides 144 FPS average with a 122 FPS minimum, offering a better balance between visual quality and performance—the 19 FPS gap between Low and Medium is modest, while the jump to High only costs 7 FPS more (137 FPS).

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset stands out as the optimal choice: 129 FPS average with a 110 FPS minimum ensures smooth gameplay while maintaining a 40 FPS margin over the High preset's 118 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p (88 FPS) remains viable for players who prioritize image quality, but the 41 FPS reduction from Medium represents a significant trade-off. For 4K, the High preset at 76 FPS is the recommended maximum, as it provides a 19 FPS improvement over Ultra (57 FPS) while staying above the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset at 4K (122 FPS) is unnecessarily conservative given the GPU's capabilities, and Medium (87 FPS) offers a strong middle ground.

The data indicates that Medium settings at 1080p or 1440p provide the best experience per the measured rows, with the 1440p Medium configuration (129 FPS, 110 min) offering the best combination of resolution and frame rate without dropping below 100 FPS at any point. Players with 144 Hz displays should target 1080p Medium or High, while 60 Hz display owners can comfortably use 1440p Ultra or 4K High.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1322 out of 3714 tested combinations places this system in the 64th percentile of all tested configurations. This ranking reflects the imbalance between the RTX 3080 Ti's 83rd percentile GPU performance and the i5-9400's 47th percentile CPU performance. The GPU's average benchmark score of 41187 versus the CPU's 2254 demonstrates the hardware disparity, with the CPU being the weaker link in this pairing.

In the context of Lockdown Protocol specifically, this ranking means the combo outperforms the majority of tested systems but falls short of top-tier configurations that would pair the RTX 3080 Ti with a higher-core-count CPU. The system's 4K High result of 76 FPS is respectable, but the 1080p Low result of 163 FPS reveals the CPU ceiling—a more powerful processor would likely push this figure higher. The nearest CPU rivals (i7-1068NG7, i7-10710U, Ryzen 5 PRO 1500, i3-10305) all have similar average benchmark scores, so swapping the i5-9400 for any of these would not meaningfully change the ranking. However, the gap between the i5-9400's six threads and modern CPUs with more threads likely explains why this combo sits at 1322 rather than higher.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings sweep shows: Low averages 163 FPS, Medium averages 144 FPS with a minimum of 122 and maximum of 165, High averages 137 FPS, and Ultra averages 120 FPS. The 43 FPS spread between Low and Ultra indicates the GPU has substantial headroom at this resolution, but the CPU's six threads prevent Low from exceeding 163 FPS. The Medium preset's 122 FPS minimum is the only recorded minimum at 1080p, suggesting frame pacing is consistent.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong: Low delivers 147 FPS, Medium averages 129 FPS with a minimum of 110 and maximum of 149, High achieves 118 FPS, and Ultra produces 88 FPS. The 59 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is wider than at 1080p (43 FPS), showing that the GPU is taking on more work as resolution increases. The Medium preset's 110 FPS minimum still comfortably exceeds 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the scaling becomes pronounced: Low averages 122 FPS, Medium averages 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 and maximum of 100, High delivers 76 FPS, and Ultra drops to 57 FPS. The 65 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is the largest spread in the dataset, confirming that the RTX 3080 Ti is the primary performance determinant at this resolution. The Ultra result of 57 FPS is the only measured configuration below 60 FPS, while the Medium preset's 74 FPS minimum provides a safety margin. The progression from 1080p Medium (144 FPS) to 1440p Medium (129 FPS) to 4K Medium (87 FPS) shows a consistent 11-15% reduction per step, typical of a well-balanced GPU-bound system.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400's specifications—six cores, six threads, 2.90 GHz base clock, 4.10 GHz boost clock—position it as a mid-range processor from the Coffee Lake Refresh generation. Its 9 MB shared L3 cache and 42.7 GB/s dual-channel DDR4 memory bandwidth are modest by modern standards, and its 47th percentile ranking versus all CPUs confirms its mid-pack status. In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p Low, where the 163 FPS result likely approaches the processor's maximum frame output.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 2254, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and single-core score of 935, indicates adequate but not exceptional processing power. The six threads without SMT mean the CPU can handle six simultaneous threads—sufficient for this game's main thread and background tasks, but potentially limiting in scenes with heavy physics or AI computation. The 65 W TDP suggests the CPU is power-efficient, but the 14 nm process node and 2018 release date mean it lacks the architectural advantages of newer processors.

At 4K, the CPU's influence diminishes: the frame rate differences between High (76 FPS) and Ultra (57 FPS) are driven almost entirely by GPU workload. However, the fact that 1080p Low (163 FPS) and 1080p High (137 FPS) differ by only 26 FPS—while 4K Low (122 FPS) and 4K High (76 FPS) differ by 46 FPS—indicates the CPU is the limiting factor at lower resolutions. The i5-9400's nearest rivals, including the i3-10305 (-0.4% difference), demonstrate that this CPU performs as expected for its class, but pairing it with the RTX 3080 Ti creates an imbalance where the GPU is often starved of data at high frame rates.