Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a strong performance profile for Lockdown Protocol, an FPS title released on 2024-03-11. Measured data shows this combination exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold across nearly every resolution and preset tested, with the only exception being the 3840x2160 Ultra setting. The data set provides average FPS figures without reported minimum or maximum values, so the analysis relies entirely on average frame rates to assess playability and component behavior.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination produces its highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 213.3 FPS, which is the peak figure in the entire measurement set. Medium settings deliver 155.2 FPS, while High drops to 132.2 FPS. The Ultra preset, the most demanding of the four settings tested, still maintains an average of 100.2 FPS. These numbers show that at 1080p, the hardware has substantial headroom above the 60 FPS threshold, with even the heaviest preset leaving a 40.2 FPS margin.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales downward in a predictable manner. Low settings average 159.5 FPS, which remains comfortably above 144 Hz refresh rates. Medium produces 112.1 FPS, and High reaches 100.7 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution averages 75 FPS, which is exactly 15 FPS above the playable threshold. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 84.5 FPS, showing a significant but expected cost for higher visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 3070 begins to show its limits. The Low preset still manages 103.6 FPS, which is higher than the Ultra preset at 1440p, indicating that resolution upscaling from 1440p to 4K costs less performance than moving from Low to Ultra settings. Medium averages 70.7 FPS, and High delivers 65.9 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K falls to 45.8 FPS, which is 14.2 FPS below the 60 FPS playable threshold and represents the only non-playable configuration in the entire measurement set.

Across all resolutions, the delta between Low and Ultra presets increases with resolution. At 1080p, the difference is 113.1 FPS; at 1440p, it is 84.5 FPS; at 4K, it is 57.8 FPS. This pattern indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, compressing the absolute FPS range between presets.

CPU and GPU Roles

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Core 12th Gen series, based on Alder Lake architecture and fabricated on a 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, with a 58 W TDP. Its benchmark scores include a Cinebench R23 multicore result of 11860 and a single-core result of 1674, placing it in the 68th percentile among all CPUs. The GPU, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, is built on the Ampere architecture with an 8 nm process from Samsung, featuring 5888 shading units, 46 RT cores, and 184 tensor cores. It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, and it achieves 20.31 TFLOPS FP32 performance.

The measured FPS data reveals how the balance shifts between CPU and GPU constraints. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the 213.3 FPS result is likely CPU-bound, as the i3-12100F's four physical cores must feed frames at a rate that exceeds typical GPU limits at lower resolutions. The single-thread performance of the i3-12100F, evidenced by its 3dmark single-thread score of 893 and Geekbench single-core score of 1932, becomes the limiting factor at such high frame rates.

As resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the GPU workload grows, and the RTX 3070's role becomes more dominant. The transition from Low to Ultra at 1080p reduces FPS by 113.1 FPS, while the same preset change at 4K reduces FPS by only 57.8 FPS. This compression indicates that at 4K, the GPU is already saturated, and further increasing settings has diminishing absolute impact. The CPU's 12 MB shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support are sufficient to keep pace with the GPU at higher resolutions, but at 1080p Low, the processor's 4-core architecture may introduce frame pacing limitations that are not captured in average FPS figures.

The RTX 3070's 8 GB memory capacity and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for the textures and geometry in Lockdown Protocol at the tested settings. The GPU's 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with the CPU's 68th percentile ranking, suggests a reasonably balanced pairing, though the data shows the CPU pulling ahead in relative performance at lower resolutions.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset achieves 100.2 FPS, which is the most demanding setting that remains above 60 FPS. All four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—are playable at this resolution, with the lowest margin being Ultra's 40.2 FPS above the threshold.

For 2560x1440, the Ultra preset delivers 75 FPS, making it the best playable configuration. The full range of settings from Low through Ultra clears 60 FPS, with Ultra providing the highest visual quality while maintaining a 15 FPS buffer above the playability floor.

At 3840x2160, the High preset is the most demanding playable option, averaging 65.9 FPS. This is 5.9 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset at 70.7 FPS and Low at 103.6 FPS are also playable, but Ultra at 45.8 FPS falls short. The verdict data confirms these findings, listing High, Low, and Medium as playable settings at 4K, with High as the best setting at 65.9 FPS.

The pattern across resolutions shows that moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces the maximum playable preset quality from Ultra at 100.2 FPS to Ultra at 75 FPS. Moving from 1440p to 4K drops the best playable preset from Ultra to High, with a corresponding FPS reduction from 75 to 65.9. For users prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 4K offers 103.6 FPS, which is higher than the Ultra preset at 1440p.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearestRivals data for the Intel Core i3-12100F lists several processors with similar average benchmark scores. The Intel Core 3 N355 has an average score of 13492, which is essentially identical to the i3-12100F's 13494, with a deltaPct of 0. The Intel Core i5-9500 scores 13452, a 0.3 percent difference. The Intel Core 5 120UL scores 13594, which is 0.7 percent higher, while the Intel Core i7-1250U scores 13351, 1.1 percent lower. These CPUs would produce nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Lockdown Protocol, meaning the i3-12100F's role in frame delivery at low resolutions would be matched by any of these alternatives.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT with an average score of 17083, a 0.7 percent delta. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 scores 17037, just 1 percent lower, and the AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 17019, 1.1 percent lower. The NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores 17468, which is 1.5 percent higher. These GPUs would deliver frame rates within 1.5 percent of the RTX 3070 across the tested resolutions and settings. For Lockdown Protocol specifically, the RX 7600 XT's slightly lower score suggests it would produce average FPS within 1 percent of the RTX 3070 at every preset, meaning the 4K Ultra result would likely remain below the 60 FPS threshold.

The combination of these rival components would behave nearly identically to the i3-12100F + RTX 3070 pairing. At 1080p Low, where the CPU is likely the bottleneck, the alternate CPUs would deliver similar 213 FPS results. At 4K Ultra, where the GPU is the limiting factor, the rival GPUs would produce FPS figures within a few frames of the 45.8 FPS measured result.

The Verdict

The data confirms that this PC can run Lockdown Protocol at playable frame rates for the majority of configurations. At 1920x1080, all four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—clear the 60 FPS threshold, with the Ultra preset averaging 100.2 FPS. At 2560x1440, all four presets are also playable, with Ultra achieving 75 FPS. At 3840x2160, three of the four presets are playable; the High preset averages 65.9 FPS, Medium averages 70.7 FPS, and Low averages 103.6 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K falls short at 45.8 FPS, making it the only non-playable configuration in the measured data.

The verdictByResolution data lists the playable settings for each resolution. For 3840x2160, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with High as the best option at 65.9 FPS. For 2560x1440, all settings are playable, with Ultra as the best at 75 FPS. For 1920x1080, all settings are playable, with Ultra as the best at 100.2 FPS. Users seeking maximum visual quality at 4K should select High settings, while those prioritizing smoothness can choose Low for 103.6 FPS. The 60 FPS threshold is met or exceeded in 11 of the 12 measured configurations, indicating a robust overall experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest playable setting at 3840x2160?

A: The High preset is the best playable setting at 4K, averaging 65.9 FPS. The Ultra preset falls below the 60 FPS threshold at 45.8 FPS, while Low and Medium are also playable at 103.6 and 70.7 FPS, respectively.

Q: Does this combination achieve 60 FPS at 2560x1440 Ultra?

A: Yes, the Ultra preset at 1440p averages 75 FPS, which is 15 FPS above the playable threshold. All four presets at this resolution clear 60 FPS.

Q: Which resolution provides the highest average frame rate?

A: The 1920x1080 Low preset produces the highest measured average at 213.3 FPS. At 1080p, even the Ultra preset averages 100.2 FPS, which is higher than the 4K Low preset's 103.6 FPS.

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

A: The i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494. The Intel Core 3 N355 scores 13492, the Intel Core i5-9500 scores 13452, the Intel Core 5 120UL scores 13594, and the Intel Core i7-1250U scores 13351, placing them all within 1.1 percent of each other.

Q: What is the only non-playable configuration in the measured data?

A: The 3840x2160 Ultra preset is the sole configuration below 60 FPS, averaging 45.8 FPS. This is 14.2 FPS below the playable threshold.

Q: Is the RTX 3070 or the i3-12100F the limiting factor at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 57.8 FPS, which is smaller than the 113.1 FPS gap at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is saturated at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination ranks 1555 out of 3714 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. This places the pairing in the upper half of all tested configurations, specifically in the 58th percentile of the combo ranking distribution. The CPU's 68th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs both contribute to this position, though the combo's rank is slightly lower than either component's individual percentile, suggesting that the pairing may not be perfectly optimized for this specific title.

The measured FPS data indicates that the combo's rank is driven primarily by its ability to exceed 60 FPS at high resolutions. The 4K High result of 65.9 FPS and the 1440p Ultra result of 75 FPS are strong showings that likely place this combo ahead of many alternatives. The 1080p results, with Ultra at 100.2 FPS and Low at 213.3 FPS, demonstrate headroom that would support high-refresh-rate displays. The only weakness is the 4K Ultra result at 45.8 FPS, which may pull the rank down relative to combos with more powerful GPUs. Overall, the 1555 rank out of 3714 combos reflects a system that handles Lockdown Protocol well across most settings, with the notable exception of 4K Ultra.