Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i5-9400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB

This pairing of a six-core Coffee Lake CPU from 2018 with a current-generation Blackwell GPU produces a playable but uneven experience in Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title. The data shows a system that delivers 163 FPS at 1080p Low but drops to 48 FPS at 4K Ultra, with the CPU becoming a limiting factor at lower resolutions and the GPU taking over at higher ones. The combo ranks 1215th out of 2828 tested configurations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the field.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS curve from 1080p to 4K reveals how workload shifts between components. At 1080p Low, the system produces 163 FPS, but this drops to 147 FPS at 1440p Low and further to 103 FPS at 4K Low. That represents a 37% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which is a relatively modest decline for a 4x pixel increase. This pattern suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is holding the system back — the GPU has headroom left on the table, and the frame rate ceiling is being set by the i5-9400's six threads.

Moving to High settings tells a different story. The system delivers 135 FPS at 1080p, 99 FPS at 1440p, and 64 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 53%, which is a steeper curve than Low settings. This indicates that as graphical load increases, the GPU becomes more dominant in determining performance. At 4K High, the RTX 5060 Ti is working harder, and the CPU bottleneck is less pronounced.

Ultra settings amplify this trend. The system hits 101 FPS at 1080p Ultra, 74 FPS at 1440p Ultra, and just 48 FPS at 4K Ultra. The 1080p to 4K drop here is 52%, similar to High settings. However, the absolute numbers are low enough that neither component is clearly the sole bottleneck — both are being pushed hard.

The Medium preset offers the most complete data, with min and max FPS recorded. At 1080p Medium, the system averages 144 FPS with a minimum of 122 and maximum of 165. At 1440p Medium, the average falls to 113 FPS with a range of 96 to 130. At 4K Medium, the average drops to 73 FPS with a range of 62 to 84. The spread between min and max FPS narrows as resolution increases — from 43 FPS at 1080p to 34 FPS at 1440p to 22 FPS at 4K. This tighter variance at higher resolutions suggests that GPU workload is smoothing out frame time consistency, whereas at 1080p, CPU-side frame pacing introduces more fluctuation.

The key takeaway from resolution scaling is that this system is balanced differently across the spectrum. At 1080p, the i5-9400's six cores and six threads are the ceiling. At 4K, the RTX 5060 Ti's 8 GB of GDDR7 memory and 128-bit bus become the constraint. The 1440p middle ground is where the pairing feels most cohesive.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the Medium preset at 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The data shows 113 FPS average with a 96 FPS minimum, which keeps the game comfortably above 60 FPS even in demanding scenes. The 96 FPS floor is important — it means the system rarely dips into territory where a 144 Hz monitor would show noticeable stuttering. At 1080p Medium, the 144 FPS average and 122 FPS minimum are excellent, but the visual uplift from 1080p to 1440p is substantial for a 29% average FPS cost (144 to 113).

For players prioritizing frame rate over visuals, 1080p Low at 163 FPS is the fastest option in the dataset. However, the jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs only 19 FPS (163 to 144) while likely providing noticeably better image quality. This makes Medium at 1080p the smarter choice for competitive play — the 144 FPS average is still well above 120 FPS, and the 122 FPS minimum ensures consistency.

At 4K, the choices are more constrained. Medium at 73 FPS average and 62 FPS minimum is the only preset that stays above 60 FPS at this resolution. High drops to 64 FPS average, which is borderline, and Ultra falls to 48 FPS, which is not smooth enough for a fast-paced FPS. The gap between 4K Medium and 4K High is 9 FPS (73 to 64), so players with 4K displays should stick with Medium unless they can tolerate occasional dips below 60.

The Ultra preset is difficult to recommend at any resolution. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 101 FPS, which is 43 FPS below Medium at the same resolution. The visual difference between Medium and Ultra in a fast-moving FPS is often less noticeable than the frame rate penalty. At 1440p Ultra, 74 FPS is playable but the 1080p Medium experience delivers nearly double the frame rate with a 37 FPS advantage (144 vs 74). The data consistently shows that Medium is the sweet spot for this hardware combination.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boosts to 4.10 GHz. Its L3 cache is 9 MB shared, with 64 KB L1 and 256 KB L2 per core. The CPU supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth. These specifications place it as a mid-range desktop part from late 2018.

Benchmark data places the i5-9400 at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database are the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (score 2259, 0.2% higher), Intel Core i3-10305 (score 2264, 0.4% higher), Intel Core i7-10710U (score 2248, 0.3% lower), and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (score 2246, 0.4% lower). This clustering within a 0.4% range indicates that the i5-9400 is firmly in the middle of its performance class — not a standout, but not a laggard either.

In Cinebench R23, the CPU scores 6629 multi-core and 935 single-core. The R20 scores are 2784 multi-core and 392 single-core, while R15 shows 668 multi-core and 94 single-core. Geekbench results are 5141 multi-core and 1389 single-core. The single-core scores are particularly relevant for Lockdown Protocol, as FPS titles often rely heavily on single-thread performance. The 935 R23 single-core score is serviceable but not exceptional for modern standards.

The absence of multi-threading (6 cores, 6 threads) is a significant factor in this game. Many contemporary CPUs offer 12 or more threads, and the i5-9400's lack of Hyper-Threading means it can struggle when background tasks or game engine threads compete for resources. The 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth is also a potential constraint, as modern FPS games often benefit from higher bandwidth.

The 47th percentile ranking puts this CPU below average in the current landscape. Its nearest rivals are all within a fraction of a percent, which means small differences in game optimization can shift relative performance. In Lockdown Protocol specifically, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p Low, where the 163 FPS ceiling suggests the GPU could push higher if the CPU allowed. The fact that 1080p Low (163 FPS) is only 16 FPS higher than 1080p Medium (144 FPS) — a much smaller gap than between Medium and Ultra — indicates that the CPU is saturating around 160-165 FPS in this title.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS on a 4K monitor?

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings. The data shows 73 FPS average and 62 FPS minimum at 4K Medium. At High settings, the average drops to 64 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS threshold, and Ultra falls to 48 FPS, which is not sufficient.

Q: What is the best resolution for this hardware combination?

A: 1440p Medium provides the most balanced experience with 113 FPS average and 96 FPS minimum. This keeps frame rates well above 60 FPS while offering a significant visual upgrade over 1080p. At 1080p, the system is CPU-limited, and at 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database?

A: The GPU scores 4901 on average, placing it at the 29th percentile. Its nearest rivals are the AMD FirePro W5130M (score 4904, 0.1% higher), NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 (score 4893, 0.2% lower), AMD Radeon R7 M265 (score 4929, 0.6% higher), and AMD Radeon R7 M360 (score 4931, 0.6% higher). All rivals are within 0.6% of the RTX 5060 Ti's score.

Q: Is the i5-9400 a bottleneck in this game?

A: At 1080p, yes. The 163 FPS ceiling at Low settings suggests the CPU limits performance, as the GPU would likely produce higher frame rates at this resolution. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, and the CPU's role diminishes.

Q: What settings should I use for competitive play?

A: 1080p Medium offers 144 FPS average with a 122 FPS minimum, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. 1080p Low provides 163 FPS but at a visual cost. The 19 FPS difference between Low and Medium is worth the quality gain for most players.

Q: How much FPS do I lose going from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings?

A: At Low settings, the drop is 16 FPS (163 to 147). At Medium, the drop is 31 FPS (144 to 113). At High, the drop is 36 FPS (135 to 99). At Ultra, the drop is 27 FPS (101 to 74). Medium loses the most in absolute terms, but the percentage drop is consistent across presets.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC. The GB206 chip contains 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die, with a transistor density of 121.0M per mm². It operates at a base clock of 2407 MHz and boosts to 2572 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The 8 GB of GDDR7 memory runs on a 128-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU features 4608 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output pipelines. It includes 36 ray tracing cores and 144 tensor cores. The pixel rate is 123.5 GPixel/s, texture rate is 370.4 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 23.70 TFLOPS. Power consumption is rated at 180 W TDP, requiring a 450 W PSU and a single 8-pin connector. The card measures 241 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width.

Benchmark data shows the RTX 5060 Ti at the 29th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 4901. This places it below average in the current GPU landscape. Its nearest rivals are surprisingly older or lower-end parts: the AMD FirePro W5130M (4904, 0.1% higher), NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 (4893, 0.2% lower), AMD Radeon R7 M265 (4929, 0.6% higher), and AMD Radeon R7 M360 (4931, 0.6% higher). The tight clustering within 0.6% suggests that in synthetic benchmarks, this GPU performs similarly to those older cards, though real-world gaming results may differ.

In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the GPU scores 4019. PassMark results show 21981 in G3D, 11365 in GPU compute, and lower scores in legacy DirectX tests: 228 in DirectX 9, 220 in DirectX 11, 142 in DirectX 10, and 82 in DirectX 12. The G2D score is 1169. These numbers indicate that the GPU is strongest in compute workloads and modern API performance.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a notable consideration for Lockdown Protocol. At 4K Ultra, the system produces 48 FPS, and the memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s may be strained by high-resolution textures. The 128-bit bus is narrow compared to higher-tier cards, which could limit performance in memory-intensive scenes. The 48 ROPs are also relatively low, potentially affecting fill-rate-bound scenarios.

The GPU's role in this game is most apparent at 4K, where it becomes the limiting factor. The 64 FPS at 4K High and 48 FPS at 4K Ultra show that the card struggles with the pixel count. At 1080p, the GPU is less stressed, and the CPU becomes the primary constraint. The 1440p resolution represents a middle ground where both components contribute roughly equally to performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 163 FPS average, Medium produces 144 FPS with a minimum of 122 and maximum of 165, High produces 135 FPS, and Ultra produces 101 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 62 FPS, with the largest single drop occurring between Medium and Ultra (43 FPS). The Medium preset's 122 FPS minimum ensures that even in heavy scenes, the game stays well above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but begins to show GPU limitations. Low settings deliver 147 FPS, Medium delivers 113 FPS with a minimum of 96 and maximum of 130, High delivers 99 FPS, and Ultra delivers 74 FPS. The Low to Ultra spread is 73 FPS, wider than at 1080p. The Medium preset's 96 FPS minimum is still solid, but the gap between Low and Medium (34 FPS) is larger than at 1080p, indicating the GPU is starting to feel the resolution increase.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. Low settings produce 103 FPS, Medium produces 73 FPS with a minimum of 62 and maximum of 84, High produces 64 FPS, and Ultra drops to 48 FPS. The Low to Ultra spread is 55 FPS. The Medium preset's 62 FPS minimum is just above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the only 4K preset that maintains playable frame rates throughout. The 48 FPS at Ultra is not suitable for a fast-paced FPS.

Comparing across resolutions at the same settings reveals the scaling pattern. At Low, 1080p to 1440p costs 16 FPS, and 1440p to 4K costs 44 FPS. At Medium, 1080p to 1440p costs 31 FPS, and 1440p to 4K costs 40 FPS. At High, 1080p to 1440p costs 36 FPS, and 1440p to 4K costs 35 FPS. At Ultra, 1080p to 1440p costs 27 FPS, and 1440p to 4K costs 26 FPS. The Ultra preset shows the most consistent scaling, while Low shows the most dramatic drop at higher resolutions.

The complete dataset shows that this system is most comfortable at 1080p and 1440p with Medium settings, where it maintains frame rates well above 60 FPS. At 4K, it can only handle Medium settings without dropping below the playable threshold. The 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus are likely contributing factors at 4K, while the six-core CPU limits maximum frame rates at 1080p.