Lockdown Protocol

The pairing of an Intel Core i5-9400 with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 in Lockdown Protocol presents a striking imbalance. The data shows a top-tier GPU constrained by a mid-range, older processor, yet the measured frame rates remain remarkably high. This analysis examines the specific benchmark results to understand where the bottleneck lies and what the numbers reveal about this unusual configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is heavily CPU-limited at lower resolutions, with the GPU only beginning to flex its muscles at higher pixel counts. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 164.3 FPS, which drops to 144.7 FPS at 1440p and further to 124.7 FPS at 4K. This represents a 24% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is surprisingly small for a game running on an RTX 4090. When the GPU is this powerful, the expectation is a much steeper drop as resolution increases, but the data suggests the processor is holding back performance at every level.

Looking at Ultra settings, the pattern shifts. At 1080p, the system manages 126.2 FPS, at 1440p it reaches 111.4 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 84.9 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 4K here is 33%, indicating that at Ultra settings, the GPU workload becomes more significant. Still, even at 4K Ultra, the RTX 4090 is not being fully utilized. The fact that 1080p Low produces 164.3 FPS while 1080p Ultra produces 126.2 FPS shows only a 23% performance penalty for maxing out settings, which is modest for such a quality jump. This narrow spread across resolutions and settings points to the CPU as the consistent limiting factor.

The data implies that the Core i5-9400, with its 6 cores and 6 threads, is saturating long before the RTX 4090 can reach its potential. At 1080p, the GPU is likely idling, waiting for the processor to feed it frames. As resolution increases, the GPU takes on more work, which explains why the FPS does not collapse as dramatically as it would on a balanced system. The scaling pattern here is a textbook example of a CPU bottleneck that gradually shifts toward a more balanced load as pixel count rises, but never fully transfers the burden to the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this specific pairing ranks 538 out of 1637 combos. That places it in the upper third of all tested systems, which is impressive given the age of the processor. However, the ranking also highlights the wasted potential. The RTX 4090 sits in the 91st percentile of all GPUs based on average benchmark scores, while the Core i5-9400 sits at only the 50th percentile of all CPUs. This mismatch suggests the combo is performing far below what the GPU alone could deliver if paired with a more capable processor.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark performance include the Intel Core i3-10305, which scores within 0.2% of the i5-9400, and the Intel Core i7-8809G, which trails by 0.6%. These are all processors with similar compute capabilities, reinforcing that the i5-9400 is a middling performer. Meanwhile, the RTX 4090's nearest rivals in GPU benchmarks are professional-grade cards like the NVIDIA Tesla T4 and Quadro P6000, which score within 1.3% of the RTX 4090's average. This GPU is in a different performance class entirely.

The rank of 538 suggests that many other combinations, likely with newer mid-range or high-end CPUs, achieve better results in this game. Yet, the fact that this combo still reaches 100+ FPS at 1440p Ultra indicates the game is not exceptionally demanding on the CPU. The data shows a system that is functional and fast but leaves significant performance on the table. For a benchmark database, this combo serves as a cautionary example of how a powerful GPU cannot fully compensate for an older CPU in a frame rate-sensitive title.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance for optimizing the experience with this hardware. At 4K, the Ultra preset yields an average of 84.9 FPS, which is playable but below the smooth 100+ FPS threshold that many FPS players prefer. Dropping to High at 4K raises the average to 109.5 FPS, a 29% improvement over Ultra with likely minor visual differences. The Medium preset at 4K offers 111.8 FPS, nearly identical to High, suggesting that High provides the best balance of visual quality and performance at this resolution.

At 1440p, the situation improves. High settings deliver 120.7 FPS, while Medium reaches 130.3 FPS. The Low preset hits 144.7 FPS, but the visual trade-off is likely too severe for most players. The sweet spot at 1440p appears to be High, which comfortably exceeds 120 FPS and should feel responsive on a high refresh rate monitor. At 1080p, all presets exceed 126 FPS, with Low reaching 164.3 FPS. For competitive play, Low at 1080p maximizes frame rate, but High at 139.1 FPS is a strong alternative for better visuals without sacrificing much performance.

The data suggests that High settings are the optimal choice across all resolutions. The gap between High and Medium is consistently small, around 2-3 FPS at 4K and 1440p, while the jump from High to Ultra costs significantly more performance. At 4K, Ultra drops below 90 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutter on some displays. For the best experience, High settings at 1440p offer the most balanced combination of frame rate and visual fidelity, with the 120.7 FPS average providing headroom for demanding scenes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset reveals a consistent pattern across all twelve measurements. At 4K, the averages range from 84.9 FPS at Ultra to 124.7 FPS at Low, with Medium at 111.8 FPS and High at 109.5 FPS. The ordering is intuitive: Low is fastest, then High and Medium are nearly tied, and Ultra is slowest. The 39.8 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K represents the full performance spectrum of this game's settings on this hardware.

At 1440p, the range tightens. Low achieves 144.7 FPS, Medium reaches 130.3 FPS, High hits 120.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 111.4 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 33.3 FPS, which is slightly smaller than at 4K. This indicates that the CPU becomes more of a factor at lower resolutions, compressing the differences between settings. At 1080p, the spread narrows further to 38.1 FPS, from 164.3 FPS at Low to 126.2 FPS at Ultra. Interestingly, at 1080p, High (139.1 FPS) is only 5 FPS faster than Medium (144.1 FPS), which is a negligible difference.

The data also shows that the game scales predictably with settings. Moving from Low to Medium costs roughly 10-13 FPS at each resolution, while moving from High to Ultra costs 14-25 FPS. The largest single drop is from High to Ultra at 4K, where the average falls from 109.5 FPS to 84.9 FPS, a 24.6 FPS penalty. This suggests Ultra settings introduce effects that are particularly demanding on the RTX 4090, possibly ray tracing or advanced post-processing. Across all resolutions, the CPU limits the maximum achievable frame rate, with the 1080p Low average of 164.3 FPS representing the ceiling for this combo.

GPU Role

The RTX 4090 brings enormous resources to this game, including 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU also features a boost clock of 2520 MHz and 16384 shading units, with 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores. These specifications place it in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66473. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla T4, scores 66733, a delta of -0.4%, meaning the RTX 4090 is slightly ahead of that professional card.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role is somewhat diminished due to the CPU bottleneck. The 4K Ultra result of 84.9 FPS demonstrates that even with a massive GPU, the game's demands at maximum settings can still stress the hardware, but the 1080p Low result of 164.3 FPS shows the GPU is capable of far more when the processor can keep up. The VRAM capacity of 24 GB is likely overkill for this game, as even at 4K Ultra, the texture memory requirements are unlikely to approach that limit. The memory clock of 1313 MHz, effective 21 Gbps, provides ample bandwidth for high-resolution textures.

The RTX 4090's pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s are staggering numbers, yet the game's frame rates do not reflect this capability. This disparity confirms that the GPU is not the limiting factor in any of the measured scenarios. The data implies that Lockdown Protocol is not a GPU-heavy title, at least not at the settings tested, and the RTX 4090's power is largely untapped. The 5 nm process node and 76,300 million transistors indicate a modern architecture, but the game does not appear to leverage its full feature set, such as DLSS or ray tracing, based on the benchmark results.

FAQ

Q: Why does the combo rank only 538 out of 1637 if it has an RTX 4090?

A: The rank reflects the overall system performance, which is limited by the Intel Core i5-9400. The CPU sits at the 50th percentile of all processors, while the GPU is in the 91st percentile. This mismatch prevents the combo from reaching higher rankings, as many other systems with more balanced configurations achieve better frame rates.

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

A: The data shows 1440p with High settings provides 120.7 FPS, which is a strong balance of performance and visual quality. At 1080p, High reaches 139.1 FPS, but the resolution is lower. 4K High at 109.5 FPS is also viable, but the drop below 120 FPS may be noticeable on high refresh rate displays.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from Low to Ultra settings?

A: At 4K, the difference is 39.8 FPS, from 124.7 FPS at Low to 84.9 FPS at Ultra. At 1440p, the difference is 33.3 FPS, and at 1080p, it is 38.1 FPS. The largest single drop occurs from High to Ultra at 4K, costing 24.6 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 being fully utilized in this game?

A: No. The 1080p Low average of 164.3 FPS is likely near the CPU's limit, not the GPU's. The RTX 4090's average benchmark score of 66473 places it far above the i5-9400's 2305, and the frame rates suggest the CPU is the bottleneck in all tested scenarios.

Q: What is the CPU's benchmark performance compared to its rivals?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305, with its nearest rival being the Intel Core i3-10305 at 2300, a delta of 0.2%. The Intel Core i7-8809G scores 2319, which is 0.6% higher. These rivals show the i5-9400 is squarely in the mid-range of CPU performance.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes, the measured 4K Ultra average is 84.9 FPS, which is well above 60 FPS. However, it falls short of 90 FPS, so for a 90Hz or 120Hz display, dropping to High at 109.5 FPS would be necessary.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 and 256 KB of L2 per core, plus 9 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. These specifications place it at the 50th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2305.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's performance is the critical constraint. The 6 threads are sufficient to run the game, but they limit the maximum frame rate. The benchmark results show that at 1080p Low, the system hits 164.3 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's ceiling. The fact that increasing resolution to 4K only drops the Low preset to 124.7 FPS suggests the CPU can still feed the GPU at higher resolutions, but the GPU is never the limiting factor. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 7969 and single-core score of 1125 provide context for its capabilities, but these synthetic benchmarks do not directly translate to game performance.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i3-10305, which scores within 0.2%, and the Intel Xeon E-2134, which is 0.4% behind. These processors have similar core counts and clock speeds, confirming that the i5-9400 is a competent but unexceptional performer. The data shows that the CPU is the primary reason this combo ranks 538th rather than higher. A newer processor with more cores or higher single-thread performance would likely push the frame rates significantly higher, especially at 1080p where the CPU bottleneck is most pronounced. The 4.10 GHz boost clock is respectable, but the 6-thread limitation becomes apparent in a game that appears to scale with CPU performance.