Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers an exceptionally high-performance configuration for Lockdown Protocol, a 2024-released FPS title. Across all tested resolutions and presets, the measured average frame rates consistently exceed 86 FPS, placing this combo in the 129th position out of 3,714 tested combinations. This pairing leverages the RTX 5090's immense graphical throughput — with 21,760 shading units and 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute — while the four-core, eight-thread i3-12100F, which boosts up to 4.30 GHz, provides sufficient single-thread responsiveness for the game's engine. The data indicates a system that is overwhelmingly capable, with the primary bottleneck shifting from raw rendering power to the CPU's multi-threading capacity only at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 (4K), the RTX 5090 demonstrates its dominance, but the CPU's influence becomes visible in the scaling between presets. On Low settings, the combo averages 183.6 FPS, which drops to 126.7 FPS on Medium and 112.2 FPS on High. The most demanding Ultra preset still yields a robust 86.2 FPS average. The gap between Low and Medium is 56.9 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra is a smaller 26.0 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns on GPU load as settings increase. Notably, the 4K Ultra result of 86.2 FPS is the lowest recorded average for this configuration, but it remains well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440 (1440p), the performance headroom expands considerably. Low settings produce an average of 240.6 FPS, with Medium at 200.3 FPS and High at 175.5 FPS. The Ultra preset achieves 128.7 FPS, which is 42.5 FPS higher than the 4K Ultra result. This resolution shows a clear shift toward GPU-bound behavior, as the absolute FPS values rise sharply compared to 4K, yet the relative ordering of presets remains identical. The data shows a 64.9 FPS difference between Low and Medium, and a 46.8 FPS difference between High and Ultra.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the configuration reaches its peak output. Low settings hit an average of 272.8 FPS, while Medium and High achieve 240.1 FPS and 229.4 FPS, respectively. Interestingly, the gap between Medium and High is only 10.7 FPS, which is the smallest incremental difference across all resolutions. The Ultra preset still manages 178.8 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 1080p is not linear: for Ultra, the jump from 128.7 FPS to 178.8 FPS represents a 50.1 FPS increase, whereas for Low, the increase is 32.2 FPS. This pattern indicates that at 1080p, the i3-12100F's four cores begin to limit the RTX 5090's full potential, particularly at lower settings where the GPU is otherwise idle.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a clear division of labor between the Intel Core i3-12100F and the RTX 5090 across resolutions. At 4K, the GPU is the dominant factor, as evidenced by the substantial FPS drops when moving from Low (183.6 FPS) to Ultra (86.2 FPS) — a 97.4 FPS reduction. The GPU's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are fully utilized at this resolution, while the CPU's 12 MB of L3 cache and 4.30 GHz boost clock provide adequate instruction feeding.

At 1440p, the balance shifts slightly toward the CPU. The difference between Low (240.6 FPS) and Ultra (128.7 FPS) is 111.9 FPS, which is proportionally larger than at 4K. This suggests that while the GPU still handles the bulk of rendering work, the CPU's per-core performance — reflected in its 3DMark single-thread score of 893 — becomes more critical as frame times shorten. The i3-12100F's PassMark single-thread score of 3,444 indicates strong single-core capability, which helps maintain high FPS even at 1440p.

The 1080p results show the CPU's ceiling. The FPS delta between Low (272.8 FPS) and Ultra (178.8 FPS) is 94.0 FPS, which is smaller than at 1440p. This compression indicates that the CPU is becoming the limiting factor. At Low settings, the GPU could theoretically render more frames, but the i3-12100F's four threads — scoring 4,023 in 3DMark max threads — cannot issue draw calls fast enough. The evidence lies in the Medium-to-High gap at 1080p: only 10.7 FPS, compared to 24.8 FPS at 1440p and 14.5 FPS at 4K. This narrowing suggests that the CPU's processing overhead is capping performance regardless of GPU load.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 86.2 FPS. This is the optimal choice for visual fidelity, as the RTX 5090's 176 ROPs and 423.6 GPixel/s pixel rate handle the 8.3 million-pixel workload without dipping below the playable threshold. Lower presets like High (112.2 FPS) and Medium (126.7 FPS) offer higher frame rates but sacrifice image quality; the data shows no need to use them for playability.

At 2560x1440, Ultra is again the best setting, delivering 128.7 FPS. This represents a 42.5 FPS improvement over 4K Ultra, demonstrating that the GPU has ample headroom at this resolution. The High preset at 175.5 FPS and Medium at 200.3 FPS are available, but they do not provide a playability advantage — they only reduce visual quality. The 1440p Ultra result is 49.3% higher than the 4K Ultra result, indicating that the GPU is not fully saturated.

For 1920x1080, Ultra remains the top choice with 178.8 FPS. This is the highest Ultra preset average across all resolutions, and it stays far above the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset at 272.8 FPS is the only setting that exceeds 270 FPS, but the Ultra preset's 178.8 FPS is more than sufficient for high-refresh-rate displays. The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU's limitations prevent the GPU from reaching its theoretical maximum, but the practical result is still exceptional performance.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 86.2 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict data confirms that Ultra is the best playable setting at this resolution.

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves?

A: The highest recorded average is 272.8 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 2560x1440 Low, the average is 240.6 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Low, it is 183.6 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: The data suggests a CPU influence. At 1080p, the FPS difference between Medium (240.1 FPS) and High (229.4 FPS) is only 10.7 FPS, which is narrower than at 1440p (24.8 FPS) or 4K (14.5 FPS). This compression indicates the i3-12100F's four cores limit the GPU's output at lower resolutions.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems?

A: This configuration ranks 129th out of 3,714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the top 3.5% of all systems tested, reflecting its high performance.

Q: Is there a resolution where the GPU is fully utilized?

A: At 3840x2160, the FPS drops by 97.4 FPS from Low to Ultra (183.6 to 86.2 FPS), indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. This is the resolution where the RTX 5090's 104.8 TFLOPS compute and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are most heavily exercised.

Q: What are the playable settings at 1440p?

A: All four presets — Low (240.6 FPS), Medium (200.3 FPS), High (175.5 FPS), and Ultra (128.7 FPS) — are playable, as they all exceed 60 FPS. Ultra is the best setting due to its superior visual quality and still-high frame rate.

The Verdict

This PC can definitively run Lockdown Protocol with exceptional performance. The verdict by resolution confirms that at 3840x2160, all four settings — Ultra (86.2 FPS), High (112.2 FPS), Medium (126.7 FPS), and Low (183.6 FPS) — clear the 60 FPS threshold. The best setting at 4K is Ultra, which maintains an 86.2 FPS average.

At 2560x1440, the results are even stronger. Ultra delivers 128.7 FPS, High reaches 175.5 FPS, Medium hits 200.3 FPS, and Low peaks at 240.6 FPS. The Ultra setting is the recommended choice, as it provides a 68.7 FPS headroom above the playable threshold.

At 1920x1080, the system is overpowered for the game. Ultra runs at 178.8 FPS, High at 229.4 FPS, Medium at 240.1 FPS, and Low at 272.8 FPS. The Ultra preset is the best choice, offering a 118.8 FPS margin over the 60 FPS minimum. In all cases, the RTX 5090's dominance ensures that the i3-12100F never causes the system to fall below playable frame rates, even at the most demanding settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global database of tested configurations for Lockdown Protocol, this Intel Core i3-12100F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination holds the 129th rank out of 3,714 tested combos. This top-tier placement is driven almost entirely by the GPU's performance, as the RTX 5090 sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 79,842. The CPU, in contrast, is in the 68th percentile of all CPUs with an average score of 13,494. The rank of 129 indicates that only 128 other systems outperform this combo, and those are likely paired with higher-end CPUs. The data shows that the GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 18,355 and PassMark G3D score of 39,650 are the primary contributors to this high ranking, while the CPU's 4-core design caps its potential in CPU-bound scenarios.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide insight into what other hardware would behave similarly. For the Intel Core i3-12100F, the closest performance match is the Intel Core 3 N355, with an average score of 13,492 versus the i3's 13,494 — a 0% delta. The Intel Core i5-9500 scores 13,452 (0.3% slower), while the Intel Core 5 120UL scores 13,594 (0.7% faster). The Intel Core i7-1250U scores 13,351 (1.1% slower). These CPUs would deliver comparable frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, particularly at 4K where the GPU is the bottleneck.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, the nearest rivals are all data-center or mobile-class parts. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79,605 (0.3% slower), the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79,396 (0.6% slower), and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78,940 (1.1% slower). The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 80,959 (1.4% faster). These alternatives would produce similar FPS in Lockdown Protocol, though they lack the RTX 5090's specific features like 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 170 RT cores. In practice, a system with any of these GPU alternatives and the i3-12100F would rank similarly, with the deltaPct values indicating less than 2% performance difference in aggregate benchmarks.