Lockdown Protocol

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate for this CPU and GPU combination at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the combination achieves an average of 81 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The minimum frame rate is not reported for this preset, but the average indicates a smooth experience.

Q: Is this system capable of running Lockdown Protocol at 3840x2160?

A: At 4K resolution, only the Low preset is playable, averaging 83 FPS. The Medium preset falls just short at 59 FPS average (with a minimum of 50 and maximum of 68), while High averages 51 FPS and Ultra averages 39 FPS, all below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Which resolution provides the highest performance headroom for this combo?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 175 FPS average, which is the highest measured frame rate across all resolutions and settings. Even at Ultra settings, 1080p maintains 81 FPS, giving substantial headroom above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: The Ultra preset is playable at 2560x1440 with an average of exactly 60 FPS, making it the most demanding preset that stays at or above the threshold. High averages 80 FPS, Medium averages 91 FPS, and Low averages 128 FPS at this resolution.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol?

A: This CPU-GPU combination ranks 2194 out of 3714 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the benchmark database. The data is measured, not estimated.

Q: What are the frame time consistency metrics at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the measured minimum and maximum frame rates are reported: 106 to 143 FPS at 1920x1080, 77 to 105 FPS at 2560x1440, and 50 to 68 FPS at 3840x2160. These ranges indicate tighter frame pacing at lower resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i3-12100F sits at the 68th percentile among all CPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 13,494. Its nearest rivals are remarkably close in aggregate performance. The Intel Core 3 N355 matches almost exactly with a score of 13,492 (0% delta). The Intel Core i5-9500 scores 13,452, just 0.3% behind. The Intel Core 5 120UL is 0.7% ahead at 13,594, while the Intel Core i7-1250U trails by 1.1% at 13,351. In practical gaming terms, these four processors would deliver nearly indistinguishable frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, with differences well under 2% in synthetic multi-threaded workloads.

On the graphics side, the AMD Radeon RX 9060 ranks at the 59th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16,014. The closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which scores 16,129 — a 0.7% advantage that would be imperceptible in gameplay. The AMD Radeon R9 370X and AMD Radeon RX 7700 both score 15,862 (1% behind), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 15,679 (2.1% behind). For Lockdown Protocol specifically, any of these GPUs paired with the i3-12100F would produce essentially the same measured FPS at each resolution and preset combination. The RX 9060's 8 GB GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for the game's demands, but the nearest rivals have similar performance envelopes.

When considering a substitute combo, the deltaPct values indicate that swapping to an RTX 3060 Ti would yield less than 1% average performance difference, while moving to a Radeon R9 370X or RX 7700 would cost roughly 1% — all within normal run-to-run variance. Similarly, CPU swaps among the four listed rivals would not meaningfully alter the measured FPS numbers in this game.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals how the balance between CPU and GPU shifts across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 175 FPS at Low settings, indicating that neither component is severely bottlenecked — the GPU can push frames quickly and the i3-12100F's 4 cores and 8 threads keep up. Moving from 1080p Low to 1440p Low drops performance from 175 to 128 FPS, a 27% reduction that is primarily GPU-driven as pixel count increases 77%. From 1440p Low to 4K Low, the frame rate falls from 128 to 83 FPS (35% reduction), further confirming that the RX 9060's raster throughput becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced at higher presets. At 1080p Ultra, the system averages 81 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, it drops to 60 FPS; and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 39 FPS. This steep decline — roughly 26% from 1080p to 1440p and another 35% to 4K — demonstrates that Ultra settings amplify the GPU workload disproportionately. The RX 9060's 1,792 shading units and 64 ROPs are tasked with increasingly heavy pixel shading at higher resolutions, while the CPU's role diminishes.

The CPU's contribution is most visible at the lowest resolution and preset. At 1080p Low, the 175 FPS result suggests the i3-12100F can feed the GPU adequately without becoming the primary constraint. However, the 4-core design with 12 MB of shared L3 cache may limit performance in scenes with heavy physics or AI calculations. The measured data shows that from 1080p Low to 4K Low, the frame rate drops 53% (175 to 83 FPS), which is a larger proportional decline than the resolution scaling would predict if the GPU were the sole factor — indicating some CPU involvement at high frame rates. At 4K, the CPU is rarely the bottleneck, as evidenced by the relatively modest differences between Low and Medium presets (83 to 59 FPS) compared to the gap between Medium and Ultra (59 to 39 FPS).

How This Combo Ranks

This configuration ranks 2,194 out of 3,714 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 41st percentile of all system pairings in the database. This position reflects a mid-tier setup that delivers playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p but struggles at 4K beyond Low settings. The rank is driven primarily by the GPU's 59th percentile standing among all GPUs, while the CPU's 68th percentile ranking provides sufficient headroom for most scenarios.

In context, the combo sits below the median of tested systems, but the measured FPS data shows it comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold at both 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 across all presets. The ranking is influenced by the fact that many tested combos include higher-tier GPUs with more memory bandwidth or additional shading units. The RX 9060's 8 GB VRAM and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this game, but they place it in the middle of the GPU distribution, and the 4K results reflect that positioning.

The 2,194 rank also reflects the CPU's aging architecture — Alder Lake with 10 nm process and 4 physical cores — which, while strong for single-threaded workloads (3,444 PassMark single-thread score), lags behind modern 6-core and 8-core parts in multi-threaded scenarios. However, for Lockdown Protocol specifically, the rank indicates that this combo outperforms roughly 41% of tested systems, a respectable showing for a lower-cost pairing.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but the experience varies significantly by resolution. At 1920x1080, all four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — clear the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset averages 81 FPS, providing a fully playable experience with maximum visual fidelity. At 2560x1440, the system also runs all presets at or above 60 FPS, with Ultra hitting exactly 60 FPS average and High delivering 80 FPS. This makes 1440p a viable choice for gamers who want higher resolution without sacrificing quality.

At 3840x2160, only the Low preset is playable, averaging 83 FPS. The Medium preset falls just short at 59 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold despite being close. High and Ultra at 4K are not recommended, averaging 51 and 39 FPS respectively. The verdict by resolution is clear: 1080p and 1440p are fully supported across all settings, while 4K demands reduced graphical fidelity to maintain smooth gameplay. The measured data confirms that the combo's 8 GB VRAM and mid-range GPU core are sufficient for mainstream resolutions but insufficient for 4K Ultra.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the best playable setting is Low, which achieves an average of 83 FPS. This is the only preset at 4K that stays at or above 60 FPS. Medium averages 59 FPS, so it does not meet the playable threshold. For 2560x1440, the best setting is Ultra at exactly 60 FPS average, making it the highest fidelity option that remains playable. High at 80 FPS and Medium at 91 FPS offer additional headroom if frame rate consistency is prioritized over visual quality. At 1920x1080, Ultra is the best setting with an average of 81 FPS, and all presets are playable — Low hits 175 FPS, Medium hits 124 FPS, and High hits 109 FPS — giving users flexibility to choose between maximum quality and maximum frame rate.

The selection of Ultra at both 1080p and 1440p demonstrates that the RX 9060's 21.43 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is sufficient for this game's visual demands at mainstream resolutions. The 64 ROPs and 334.9 GTexel/s texture rate handle the rendering workload without dropping below the 60 FPS threshold. For users who prefer higher refresh rates, dropping to Medium at 1440p yields 91 FPS, a 52% improvement over Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 83 FPS average (minimum and maximum not reported)
• Medium: 59 FPS average, 50 FPS minimum, 68 FPS maximum
• High: 51 FPS average (minimum and maximum not reported)
• Ultra: 39 FPS average (minimum and maximum not reported)

The 4K results show a clear progression: each step up in preset costs roughly 20-30% performance. Medium's 50 FPS minimum indicates occasional drops below the playable threshold, making it unsuitable for consistent 60 FPS gameplay despite the 59 FPS average. Low's 83 FPS average provides a 38% buffer above the threshold.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 128 FPS average (minimum and maximum not reported)
• Medium: 91 FPS average, 77 FPS minimum, 105 FPS maximum
• High: 80 FPS average (minimum and maximum not reported)
• Ultra: 60 FPS average (minimum and maximum not reported)

At 1440p, the system maintains playable frame rates across all presets. Medium's 77 FPS minimum stays well above the threshold, while Ultra's 60 FPS average sits exactly at the playable line. The gap between Low and Ultra is 68 FPS (128 to 60), showing the significant impact of preset scaling at this resolution.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 175 FPS average (minimum and maximum not reported)
• Medium: 124 FPS average, 106 FPS minimum, 143 FPS maximum
• High: 109 FPS average (minimum and maximum not reported)
• Ultra: 81 FPS average (minimum and maximum not reported)

At 1080p, this combo delivers excellent performance. Even the Ultra preset maintains an 81 FPS average, and Low reaches 175 FPS — more than double the playable threshold. Medium's 106 FPS minimum ensures no significant frame drops during intense scenes. The measured data indicates that 1080p is the sweet spot for this pairing, offering both high quality and high frame rates.