Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers a consistently playable experience in Lockdown Protocol across all tested resolutions, though the margin of safety varies sharply with quality settings. At 4K, the combo lands right at the edge of the 60 FPS threshold, while at 1440p and 1080p it provides substantial headroom, even at maximum quality presets. The data shows a system that is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but the quad-core CPU still holds its own at 1080p where frame rates exceed 180 FPS on the lowest preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a complete picture of performance scaling. At 1920x1080, the RTX 4060 produces an average of 187.7 FPS on Low settings, which drops to 133.3 FPS on Medium, 120.2 FPS on High, and 85.5 FPS on Ultra. The spread between Low and Ultra is 102.2 FPS, indicating that Lockdown Protocol's quality presets have a significant impact on frame rate at this resolution. The Ultra preset still clears the 60 FPS threshold by a comfortable 25.5 FPS margin.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 138.2 FPS on Low, 99.5 FPS on Medium, 88.7 FPS on High, and 64.6 FPS on Ultra. The step from High to Ultra costs 24.1 FPS, which is the largest single-preset drop at this resolution. The Ultra preset's 64.6 FPS average remains above the playable threshold, but with less than 5 FPS of headroom, it represents the most demanding setting that still qualifies as playable. The Low preset at 1440p is actually faster than the Ultra preset at 1080p, highlighting how resolution scaling affects the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. The Low preset yields 90.5 FPS, Medium drops to 61.5 FPS, High falls to 58.2 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 44.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 29.0 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is only 3.3 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns as the GPU approaches its limits. The Ultra preset's 44.3 FPS is 15.7 FPS below the playable threshold, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay. The High preset also fails to reach 60 FPS, with its 58.2 FPS average missing the mark by 1.8 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the best settings are defined as the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS. The data indicates that this combo can run Lockdown Protocol at Medium settings in 4K, with an average of 61.5 FPS. That is the only preset at 3840x2160 that clears the threshold, since High falls short at 58.2 FPS and Ultra at 44.3 FPS. The 1.5 FPS margin at Medium is thin, but it technically qualifies as playable.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are Ultra, which produces 64.6 FPS. This is noteworthy because it means the system can run the maximum quality preset at 1440p while staying above 60 FPS. The margin is 4.6 FPS, which is tighter than the 24.4 FPS margin at 1080p Ultra, but still acceptable. All four presets at 1440p — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — clear the 60 FPS threshold, making this resolution the sweet spot for balancing visual quality and performance.

At 1920x1080, the best settings are also Ultra, with an average of 85.5 FPS. This provides a 25.5 FPS buffer above the playable threshold, giving the system considerable headroom for demanding scenes. The data shows that 1080p Ultra is the most visually demanding configuration that remains comfortably playable, with the Low preset at 187.7 FPS serving as the maximum frame rate option for high-refresh-rate displays.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions reveals which component limits performance in Lockdown Protocol. The RTX 4060 is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as evidenced by the steep drop in frame rates when moving from 1440p to 2160p. At 1440p Ultra, the system produces 64.6 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 44.3 FPS — a reduction of 20.3 FPS, or roughly 31%. This indicates that the GPU is saturated at higher pixel counts, and the CPU has ample headroom to feed it.

At 1080p, the CPU begins to show its influence. The i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, delivers a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11860 and a single-core score of 1674. The jump from 1080p Low at 187.7 FPS to 1080p Medium at 133.3 FPS is a 54.4 FPS drop, which is larger than the corresponding drop at 1440p (38.7 FPS) or 4K (29.0 FPS). This suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU's per-thread performance — reflected in its 3DMark single-thread score of 893 — becomes more relevant, though the GPU still governs overall throughput.

The fact that the 1440p Low preset (138.2 FPS) is slower than the 1080p Low preset (187.7 FPS) by 49.5 FPS indicates that the GPU is still the limiting factor even at lower quality settings. However, the delta between resolutions narrows as settings increase: the difference between 1080p Ultra (85.5 FPS) and 1440p Ultra (64.6 FPS) is 20.9 FPS, while the difference between 1080p Low and 1440p Low is 49.5 FPS. This pattern confirms that Lockdown Protocol scales primarily with GPU load, and the i3-12100F provides sufficient compute to avoid becoming a bottleneck at any tested configuration.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Based on the nearestRivals data for both components, several hardware combinations would produce similar results in Lockdown Protocol. The Intel Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494, with its closest rival being the Intel Core 3 N355 at a score of 13492, a delta of 0%. The Intel Core i5-9500 scores 13452, which is 0.3% lower, while the Intel Core 5 120UL scores 13594, which is 0.7% higher. The Intel Core i7-1250U rounds out the group with a score of 13351, 1.1% lower. Any of these CPUs paired with the RTX 4060 would yield nearly identical frame rates, with the Core 5 120UL offering a marginal 0.7% improvement.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 17639. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 scores 17666, which is 0.2% higher, making it the closest match. The AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588, 0.3% lower, while the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 17551, 0.5% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro 460 scores 17509, 0.7% lower. Swapping the RTX 4060 for any of these would change performance by less than 1%, meaning the measured FPS at each resolution and preset would remain within a fraction of a frame per second.

The practical implication is that a system with an Intel Core i5-9500 and an AMD Radeon HD 7790 would deliver essentially the same experience as the i3-12100F and RTX 4060 combo. The 0.3% CPU delta and 0.2% GPU delta are well within measurement noise for a game like Lockdown Protocol. Similarly, the Core i7-1250U and Radeon Pro 460 combination would be about 1.8% slower overall, which might push 4K Medium below the 60 FPS threshold in some scenes, but would not affect 1440p or 1080p playability.

The Verdict

The data confirms that this PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but the answer depends heavily on the target resolution and quality preset. At 1920x1080, the system is fully capable across all settings. The Ultra preset averages 85.5 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by 25.5 FPS. Even the most demanding configuration at this resolution is comfortably playable, making 1080p the safest choice for consistent performance.

At 2560x1440, the verdict is also positive, with all four presets clearing 60 FPS. The Ultra preset's 64.6 FPS average provides a 4.6 FPS margin, which is sufficient but not generous. Players who prefer a larger buffer might opt for High settings at 88.7 FPS, but the data shows that Ultra is technically playable. The 4K resolution is where the system struggles. The best playable setting is Medium at 61.5 FPS, which is just 1.5 FPS above the threshold. High settings fall short at 58.2 FPS, and Ultra is not playable at 44.3 FPS. For 4K gaming, users must accept Medium quality or lower the resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest preset that maintains at least 60 FPS at 3840x2160?

A: Medium settings, with an average of 61.5 FPS. High settings drop to 58.2 FPS, which falls below the playable threshold.

Q: Does the system exceed 60 FPS at 2560x1440 on Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the Ultra preset averages 64.6 FPS at 1440p, providing a 4.6 FPS margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the maximum average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest measured average is 187.7 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the i3-12100F compare to the Intel Core i5-9500 in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494, which is 0.3% higher than the i5-9500's score of 13452.

Q: Is the RTX 4060's nearest rival significantly faster or slower?

A: The closest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7790, scores 17666 versus the RTX 4060's 17639, a delta of only 0.2% — effectively identical.

Q: Which resolutions have all presets playable at or above 60 FPS?

A: Both 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 support all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) above 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, only Low and Medium are playable.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 3714 hardware combinations tested in Lockdown Protocol, this pairing of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1990th. That places it in the 46th percentile of all tested combos, meaning roughly 46% of configurations are slower and 54% are faster. The rank reflects the balance of the mid-range CPU and GPU, which together deliver solid 1080p and 1440p performance but fall short of the top tier at 4K. The CPU's 68th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs suggest that neither component is a weak link, but the combination is not optimized for maximum frame rates at ultra-high resolutions. The 1990th rank out of 3714 combos indicates that this system sits slightly below the median, which aligns with the measured FPS data showing playable but not exceptional 4K performance.