Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 delivers a broadly capable 1080p and 1440p experience in Lockdown Protocol, with 4K reserved for lower presets. Measured data across three resolutions and four quality settings shows a system that comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS playability threshold at most configurations, though the most demanding settings at higher resolutions push it below that line. This combination ranks in the 69th percentile of tested combos for this game, indicating a solid but not exceptional position within the database.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its strongest results across the board. The Low preset hits an average of 160 FPS, which is more than double the 60 FPS threshold and leaves substantial headroom for high-refresh-rate displays. Medium settings drop to 113 FPS average, with a minimum of 96 FPS and a maximum of 130 FPS, meaning even the worst-case frame times stay well above playability. High settings deliver 99 FPS average, still a very fluid experience. The Ultra preset, the most demanding at this resolution, maintains an average of 74 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS bar by a comfortable margin. The step from High to Ultra costs 25 FPS, a significant drop that reflects the increased load from maximum-quality effects.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern shifts downward but remains playable for most presets. Low settings produce 117 FPS average, a strong result that keeps the experience smooth. Medium averages 83 FPS, with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS, so even frame dips stay above the threshold. High settings average 73 FPS, which is still above 60 FPS, though the margin narrows compared to 1080p. Ultra at 1440p falls to 54 FPS average, which is below the playability threshold and represents the first clear miss for this resolution. The difference between High and Ultra here is 19 FPS, slightly less severe than at 1080p but still substantial.

At 3840x2160, the system's limitations become more obvious. Low settings manage 76 FPS average, which clears the threshold and makes 4K playable only at the lowest quality. Medium averages 54 FPS, with a minimum of 46 FPS and a maximum of 62 FPS, placing the average below 60 FPS and the minimum well below it. High settings drop to 47 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 35 FPS average. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 41 FPS spread, indicating that the GPU becomes the dominant constraint at this resolution. The 4K Medium data includes min/max values, which is the only resolution besides 1440p Medium and 1080p Medium to record those metrics, suggesting the benchmark captured more detailed frame data at these mid-tier settings.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS on a 1080p display?

A: Yes. All four presets at 1920x1080 exceed 60 FPS, with Low at 160 FPS, Medium at 113 FPS, High at 99 FPS, and Ultra at 74 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset at 1440p that stays at or above 60 FPS?

A: High settings at 2560x1440 produce 73 FPS average, which is the most demanding preset that clears the threshold. Medium also qualifies at 83 FPS, and Low at 117 FPS, but Ultra falls short at 54 FPS.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this combination?

A: Only at Low settings, which deliver 76 FPS average. Medium drops to 54 FPS, High to 47 FPS, and Ultra to 35 FPS, so any preset above Low fails the 60 FPS requirement.

Q: How much FPS is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings?

A: At High settings, the drop is 26 FPS (99 to 73). At Low settings, the drop is 43 FPS (160 to 117). At Medium, the drop is 30 FPS (113 to 83), and at Ultra, the drop is 20 FPS (74 to 54).

Q: What is the largest FPS gap between presets at a single resolution?

A: At 1920x1080, the gap between Low (160 FPS) and Ultra (74 FPS) is 86 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low-to-Ultra gap is 63 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it is 41 FPS.

Q: Does the system ever drop below 60 FPS even at lower resolutions?

A: The minimum recorded FPS at 1080p Medium is 96 FPS, and at 1440p Medium it is 71 FPS, so no measured minimum falls below 60 FPS at those settings. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 46 FPS does fall below the threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 ranks 2577 out of 3714 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the 69th percentile of all combinations, meaning roughly 31 percent of tested systems perform better. The ranking reflects the balance between the CPU's 68th percentile score among all processors and the GPU's 57th percentile among all graphics cards. The CPU is comparatively stronger than the GPU in this pairing, which influences how the system behaves at different resolutions.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 13494 places it just ahead of the Intel Core i5-9500 (13452, 0.3 percent slower) and the Intel Core 3 N355 (13492, essentially identical). It trails the Intel Core 5 120UL (13594, 0.7 percent faster) and the Intel Core i7-1250U (13351, 1.1 percent slower than the i3-12100F). These rivals represent the closest performance tier for the processor, with all four within roughly one percent of each other.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 7600's average score of 15171 sits near the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (15199, 0.2 percent faster) and above the AMD Radeon Pro 560X (15082, 0.6 percent slower) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti (15063, 0.7 percent slower). The AMD Radeon 680M (15270) is 0.7 percent faster. These close margins mean that swapping the GPU for any of these rivals would produce nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, with differences too small to notice in real gameplay.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but the playable range depends heavily on resolution. At 1920x1080, every preset clears 60 FPS, including Ultra at 74 FPS, so the system is fully capable at the most common gaming resolution. At 2560x1440, High settings at 73 FPS and Medium at 83 FPS provide smooth gameplay, while Ultra at 54 FPS falls short. At 3840x2160, only Low settings at 76 FPS achieve 60 FPS, with Medium at 54 FPS, High at 47 FPS, and Ultra at 35 FPS all failing the threshold.

The verdict data confirms that 1080p is the sweet spot for this combo, offering Ultra-quality playability. At 1440p, users must choose between High settings at 73 FPS or Ultra at 54 FPS, with the latter requiring a compromise on frame rate. At 4K, the system is effectively limited to Low settings, which still delivers a playable 76 FPS but sacrifices visual fidelity. For gamers prioritizing frame rate over image quality, the system handles all resolutions at Low settings, but for those seeking maximum quality, 1080p Ultra is the only configuration that fully satisfies the 60 FPS requirement.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, while the CPU's role remains relatively constant. At 1080p, the CPU's strong single-thread performance (893 in 3dmark single-thread, 3444 in passmark single-thread) helps maintain high frame rates even at Low settings, where the GPU has less work to do. The 160 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at this resolution, preventing a CPU-side limit from capping performance.

At 1440p, the GPU's load increases, and the frame rates drop proportionally more than at 1080p. The 117 FPS at Low settings still shows CPU headroom, but the gap between Low and Ultra (63 FPS) is smaller than at 1080p (86 FPS), indicating the GPU is starting to dominate. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor: Low settings produce 76 FPS, while Ultra drops to 35 FPS, a 41 FPS spread that mirrors the GPU's raw compute limits rather than CPU capabilities.

The scaling between resolutions reinforces this split. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings costs 26 FPS, while moving from 1440p to 4K at High costs another 26 FPS. At Low settings, the 1080p-to-1440p drop is 43 FPS, but the 1440p-to-4K drop is only 41 FPS, showing that the GPU's workload grows more steeply at higher resolutions. The CPU's 4-core, 8-thread configuration, with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, is sufficient to avoid becoming the primary constraint at any resolution tested, but it also lacks the multi-threaded headroom (cinebench r23 multicore score of 11860) to push frame rates higher in CPU-bound scenarios.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the most demanding setting that stays at or above 60 FPS, delivering an average of 74 FPS. This is the recommended configuration for this resolution, as it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a comfortable margin above the threshold.

At 2560x1440, High settings provide 73 FPS average, which is the best quality option that clears 60 FPS. Medium offers 83 FPS and Low offers 117 FPS, but High strikes the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance. Ultra at 54 FPS does not meet the requirement.

At 3840x2160, Low settings are the only playable option, achieving 76 FPS average. Medium at 54 FPS, High at 47 FPS, and Ultra at 35 FPS all fall below the threshold, so Low is the definitive choice for 4K gaming with this hardware.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals to the Intel Core i3-12100F are all within about one percent of its average benchmark score. The Intel Core 3 N355 matches the i3-12100F almost exactly (13492 vs 13494, 0 percent difference), making it a direct equivalent for Lockdown Protocol performance. The Intel Core i5-9500 is 0.3 percent slower (13452), the Intel Core 5 120UL is 0.7 percent faster (13594), and the Intel Core i7-1250U is 1.1 percent slower (13351). Any of these processors would produce nearly identical frame rates in this game, with differences well below the level of perceptible variation.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 7600's closest competitors are similarly clustered. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM is 0.2 percent faster (15199), the AMD Radeon 680M is 0.7 percent faster (15270), the AMD Radeon Pro 560X is 0.6 percent slower (15082), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti is 0.7 percent slower (15063). These deltas are negligible for gameplay, so swapping to any of these cards would yield frame rates within one or two FPS of the RX 7600's results at every resolution and preset tested. The practical takeaway is that this performance tier is tightly packed, and the specific choice among these components matters less than the overall system balance.