Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is a capable 1080p and 1440p gaming combination for Lockdown Protocol, but it falls short of the 60 FPS threshold at 4K on the highest presets. Benchmark data shows this combo achieves a 91.7 average FPS at 1080p Ultra and a 64.4 average at 1440p Ultra, while 4K Ultra drops to 41 FPS. The i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, does not bottleneck the RX 6700 XT at lower resolutions, but the GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and RDNA 2 architecture become the limiting factor as resolution increases. This analysis is based on measured FPS data and component benchmark scores, providing a clear picture of where this system excels and where it struggles.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS on 1080p Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 91.7, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best playable preset at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the best settings that stay at or above 60 FPS are Medium, with an average of 66.1 FPS. High settings drop to 58.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 41 FPS.

Q: How does the i3-12100F compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core 3 N355 (13492, 0% delta), the Intel Core i5-9500 (13452, 0.3% ahead), and the Intel Core 5 120UL (13594, 0.7% behind). It outperforms the Intel Core i7-1250U by 1.1%.

Q: Is the RX 6700 XT a strong performer relative to other GPUs?

A: The RX 6700 XT sits in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27425. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, scores 27435 (0% delta), while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 scores 27565 (0.5% higher).

Q: Does the system handle 1440p resolution well?

A: Yes, all presets at 2560x1440 are playable. The Ultra preset achieves an average of 64.4 FPS, while Low reaches 138.2 FPS, showing strong headroom at this resolution.

Q: What is the most demanding setting that remains playable at 4K?

A: Medium is the most demanding setting at 3840x2160 that stays above 60 FPS, with an average of 66.1 FPS. Low runs at 91.9 FPS, but High and Ultra fall below the playable threshold.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU in this combo have close performance neighbors that would yield near-identical results in Lockdown Protocol. For the Intel Core i3-12100F, the Intel Core 3 N355 (avg score 13492, 0% delta) is the closest match, followed by the Intel Core i5-9500 (13452, 0.3% behind) and the Intel Core 5 120UL (13594, 0.7% faster). These processors deliver effectively the same compute headroom for the game, meaning frame rates would be nearly unchanged in CPU-bound scenarios. The Intel Core i7-1250U (13351, 1.1% slower) is also a near-identical alternative, though its mobile positioning may affect sustained performance differently.

On the GPU side, the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (avg score 27425) is virtually tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile (27435, 0% delta). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (27565, 0.5% faster) and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 (27839, 1.5% faster) also sit within a 1.5% performance band. For Lockdown Protocol, any of these GPUs would produce frame rates within a few percent of the RX 6700 XT at every resolution and preset. The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell (27135, 1.1% slower) rounds out the immediate competition. When swapping in any of these alternatives, the measured FPS data would shift by less than 2% on average, making the playability verdicts identical at all three tested resolutions.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear shift in component responsibility as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 190.8 FPS on Low settings and 117.5 FPS on High, suggesting that the GPU is not fully saturated and the CPU’s 4 cores and 8 threads are sufficient to feed the RX 6700 XT. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p is a 51.9% FPS drop (190.8 to 91.7), which indicates the GPU is the primary driver of performance differences between presets, while the CPU maintains a consistent baseline.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops across all presets compared to 1080p, but the pattern remains similar: Low runs at 138.2 FPS and Ultra at 64.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra shrinks to 53.4%, showing that the GPU is still the bottleneck as resolution increases. At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes overwhelmingly dominant. Low settings produce 91.9 FPS, but Ultra falls to 41 FPS, a 55.4% reduction. The CPU’s role is minimal at 4K, as the RX 6700 XT’s rendering load scales with pixel count, and the i3-12100F’s single-thread performance (3dmark single-thread score of 893) is more than adequate to keep up.

The verdict data confirms this: 4K playable settings are limited to Low and Medium, while 1440p and 1080p allow all presets including Ultra. This indicates that users targeting 1080p or 1440p will see the GPU as the main differentiator between presets, while at 4K, the GPU alone determines whether the game is playable. The CPU’s contribution is effectively constant across resolutions, as evidenced by the similar FPS deltas between presets at each resolution.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but the experience varies significantly by resolution. At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, with Ultra settings delivering a strong 91.7 FPS average. The 2560x1440 resolution also supports every preset, with Ultra achieving 64.4 FPS — just above the 60 FPS threshold. At 3840x2160, the system can only maintain playable frame rates on Low (91.9 FPS) and Medium (66.1 FPS) settings. High at 4K falls to 58.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 41 FPS, both below the playable threshold.

The sweet spot for this combo is 1440p, where the Ultra preset delivers 64.4 FPS, providing a balance between visual fidelity and smoothness. At 1080p, the system has significant headroom, making it an excellent choice for high-refresh-rate monitors, as the Low preset reaches 190.8 FPS. For 4K users, the Medium preset at 66.1 FPS is the recommended ceiling, as pushing to High sacrifices the 60 FPS guarantee. Overall, this combination is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K playable only at reduced settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F + AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT combination ranks 1936th out of 3714 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 47.9th percentile. This mid-pack ranking reflects the balance between the CPU’s 68th percentile performance (avg score 13494) and the GPU’s 72nd percentile performance (avg score 27425). The system outperforms roughly half of all tested combinations, but it is not a top-tier setup.

The ranking is primarily driven by the GPU’s strong benchmark score, which is in the upper quartile of all GPUs, while the CPU sits slightly lower in its distribution. In Lockdown Protocol, this means the combo performs well at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed, but falls behind higher-ranked combos at 4K Ultra, where the RX 6700 XT’s limitations become apparent. The rank suggests that users with this setup will have a better-than-average experience, especially at 1080p and 1440p, but will need to compromise settings at 4K to stay playable.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 91.7 FPS. This provides the highest visual quality without any performance concerns.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding playable preset is also Ultra, averaging 64.4 FPS. This is a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the recommended choice for this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains 60 FPS is Medium, with an average of 66.1 FPS. This is the only 4K preset that clears the threshold, as High (58.1 FPS) and Ultra (41 FPS) do not meet the playability standard.